Belgium wants Senegal to act against Chad's former president Hissène Habré, who has lived in exile in Dakar since 1990.

Brussels has filed a case against Senegal with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN's highest court in The Hague. It is seeking a court order that would force Senegal to put Habré on trial or extradite him to Belgium, "so that he can answer for his crimes."

Belgium accuses Senegal of failing to prosecute the former Chadian despot for torture and crimes against humanity during his rule, in violation of the UN Convention against Torture. Brussels has also asked the court to to prevernt Senegal from allowing Habré to leave the country and escape prosecution.

Cases before the ICJ usually take years to settle. However, if a party requests a provisional measure, the court's judges can sign a speedy temporary order.

Millstone
The Habré case has been a millstone round the neck of the Senegalese authorities.

In 2000 a group of Habré's victims went to court in Dakar. The former dictator was indicted and put under house arrest. But the court dismissed the case in 2001, saying the case was outside its jurisdiction.

The victims then turned to Belgium, where universal jurisdiction laws allow the prosecution of crimes committed elsewhere. But despite a 2005 international arrest warrant, Senegal has refused to extradite Habré.

In 2007, Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade pledged to try Habré in Senegal "on behalf of Africa." But despite amendments to the law allowing its courts to prosecute past crimes against humanity, torture and war crimes, Senegal has so far not begun any legal proceedings.

On 15 August 2008, in separate proceedings in Chad, a court in N'Djaména tried Hissène Habré in abstentia and sentenced him to death for for backing an armed rebellion against the current Chadian government.

Habré's legacy
Hissène Habré (1942), also dubbed the 'African Pinochet', ruled Chad from 1982 until current President Idriss Déby deposed him in 1990.

In 1992, a Chadian truth commission detailed Habré's responsibility for 40,000 politically motivated murders and 200,000 cases of torture and ethnic cleansing during his rule.

The Hague Justice Portal has more:

• Presentation of the case