Senegal said on Sunday it had suspended a decision to send former Chadian President Hissene Habre back to his homeland to face trial after the intervention of the UN's top human rights official.

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Having hosted Habre in exile for two decades and delayed plans to try him, Senegal said last week it would send Habre back to Chad, where he has been sentenced to death in absentia for crimes committed during his time in power in the 1980s.

But Navi Pillay, UN high commissioner for Human Rights, called on Senegal not to extradite former unless he is guaranteed to get a fair trial and not face torture or execution.

"Following the request by the High Commissioner, Senegal is suspending the expulsion order which issued for ... Habre," Madicke Niang, Senegal's minister for foreign affairs, said on state television.

Habre, 69, who was ousted in a coup in December 1990 by current President Idriss Deby Itno, has been accused of thousands of killings and other atrocities during his eight-year rule of the Central African state.
He has lived in Senegal since the coup despite efforts over the last ten years to seek his trial either in Senegal or another country.

"We are glad that Senegal has called off this ill-conceived transfer,  but it can't be a pretext to continue shielding Habré from justice. After 20 years,  his victims have a right to their day in court," said Reed Brody, a lawyer at Human Rights Watch who has followed the Habre case for years.

"Habré's extradition to Belgium is now the only option for ensuring that he responds to the charges against him with all the guarantees of a fair trial," he added.

Belgium has sought Habre's extradition since 2005 after a complaint was filed by victims in Belgium.

Fears of trial
Habre was sentenced to death in absentia in August 2008 along with 11 leaders of eastern rebel groups who attacked the Chadian capital that year and besieged Deby's presidential palace before being driven back by Deby's army.

The 12 were convicted of threatening constitutional order and state security.

Pillay issued a statement earlier on Sunday calling on Senegal to review its decision and ensure any extradition of Habre led to him having a fair trial and not being "subjected to torture or the death penalty".

Senegal, which has ratified the UN Convention against Torture, may not extradite a person to a country where there are substantial grounds to believe he may be subjected to torture, said Pillay, a former U.N. war crimes judge.

Belgium, which has launched legal proceedings to ensure Habre remains in Senegal until a case at the International Court of Justice is resolved, also challenged Habre's return to Chad.

Major human rights groups including Amnesty International urged Senegal on Saturday not to extradite him on the grounds he might not get a fair trial in Chad.

During over a decade of wrangling over where he should stand trial, Senegal said at first it did not have the jurisdiction to hold a trial. Once laws were changed, Dakar said it lacked the funds.

In 2005, a Belgian judge issued an international arrest warrant charging Habre with crimes against humanity.