what those people are doing, what the chileans are doing, we want to do that with hissene habre. at is why habre got the moniker -- we gave him the name of the time, the african pinochet. frankly, amy, one take away from this is the hope that other people around the world, other victims, other survivors, other activists will look at what the chadians have done fighting for 25 years and achieving justice and say, we want to do what hissene habre's victims have done. amy: i want to turn to a clip from the film "talking about rose" by isabel coixet, the spanish filmmaker. rose was one of the first women in chad to become an elite soldier. after she joined opposition to have dictatorship, rose was arrested and taken to the terrible prison. amy: rose was a good woman. they tortured her, bound her, with terror, she would not even move. she was very courageous. even when she would come back from torture, she would still chat like normal with us. as if she had not seen a thing. a good woman. amy: an excerpt of the documentary "talking about rose" by the award-winning filmmaker isabel coix

he has worked with victims of hissene habre's regimeme since 1999 and played a critical role in bringing habre to trial. reed brody, welcome to democracy now! share your reaction to the verdict yesterday. >> thank you, amy. well, it is an immense satisfaction. the judge was reading the his --, and as weeeard you know, the narrative the victims have been weaving for 25 years, basicalally detaileled be jge who foundnd thellegationsns credible, and we could see -- we could see e the way the jududges heading. it was just this immemense momet of satisfaction. right after the verdict, you know, we were embracing and there are a number of widows who had comeme from chad, , especiay for the occasion.n. -- speciallyly for the occccasi. very few p people thoughght thiy wowould ever come.e. one of thehem was souleyeymane guenggueueng, who you highlightd before. lasst nightht with souleymane guenggueng until 1:00 in her hotel room, we weree-watchinng ththe reading of the e verdict n tv.. hardrd to believe that this day has come, that these victims have finally achieved justice. reed, talk about soul

hissene habre refused to recognize the trial against him. defense saying there was not enough evidence to link him to the crimes his police committed. the court found that he had ordered the systematic oppression of his opponents and himself committed torture and rape. >> today we are sending a strong message to all dictators all over the world and particularly in africa. >> hissene habre's conviction is the first time in african dictator has been convicted by another african country. >> we were in the courtroom. we are joint life now from the car. talk to me about the significance of this verdict today. >> good evening fromdakkar, a city that has made african legal history today. you mentioned yourself, the first tme in african court has prosecuted, judged, and condemned the former african leader. that is unprecedented and that is one of the main signals coming out of this verdict, that africa is very capable of judging its own. other authoritarian leaders on the content may now be getting the message that they cannot take impunity to grant

the same habre -- hissene habre let a military coup. over the next eight years, his regime was characterized by widespread human rights abuses and atrocities. he was ousted by one of his former generals, he remains president of chad to this day. accused ofent was systematic torture, saying that 40,000 people died as a result of his rule. threw twohrown, habre senegal, where in 2005 he was placed under house arrest where he was indicted in 2013. prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for the first african leader to be tried for human rights abuses in another african country. the trial has been dismissed by protesters as politically automated. dozens of his alleged victims have come forward to give evidence to put him behind bars. genie: that verdict is being read out as we speak. ours bring in correspondent. marc andre, we are hearing that he is been found guilty of rape or it tell us. >> that is the first thing that comes out of it since the judge basically just read the entire judgment, and it is the first charge that has been decline

on the other side, the same thing. >> this man was a prisoner during hissene habre's role. every day for two years, he buried at least six people. >> i don't know why people were executed. other people died. what i know is that they accused me of being involved in politics, but this is not true. i'm just a farmer. >> thousands of files on the redeemed prisoners were found and used in the trial. among them, 800 death certificates, including one that says the prisoner died while reveal certain truths. he drew several torture techniques for the court to see. >> when i look at the drawings, it is like i'm experiencing the event again. i feel it in my bones. i remember how they climbed on my back and shouted. >> victims say they will remain start for life, but that the verdict allows them to look forward. >> what has suffered and never happen again in chad. what we want here is tranquility and peace. this will make us happy. what happened with hissene habre was an outrage. >> it was a milestone for african justice. international jurisdiction has been criticized by african leader

hissene habre never imagined that one day he would be in court hearing our sacrifices have paid off, so hooray for us. finding him guilty is all that is left for me. not compensation. today is a huge victory for the survivors. for the survivors of hissene habre, who never lost faith that one day justice would be done, i think today will be engraved forever in history. but a groom -- but a group of -- that a group of people could bring a dictator to justice. genie: next, to the democratic republic of congo, where mining is destroying ecosystems in the south. the pollution is thought to be responsible not only for environmental damage, but also for health problems and birth defects among locals. alexander alcott has details. alexander: this river is now devoid of life. it is 30 kilometers from the 'smocratic republic of congo second city. while it has the highest level of biodiversity in africa, here, heavy metals and other pollutants have made it impossible for the fish to survive. experts are warning about the health effects on people living close by. we have studied human contaminat

hissene habre was convicted of rape, forced slavery, kidnapping, and ordering the killings of 40,000 1990. human rights watch says he is the first african former head of state to be convicted on the continent. >>> a kenyan military defeat has largely been shrouded in secrecy until now. terrorists launched a bold attack on a kenyan base in somalia back in january. but kenya's government kept it quiet. >> now the world is finally starting to see just how deadly that attack was. robyn kriel has this exclusive report. >> reporter: the photos he sent home told his family he was brave. but in his personal life, the corporal didn't like conflict. >> he was always jolly. he had a permanent smile. >> reporter: his job was to drive tanks out of the base in southern somalia. his pictures showed what he called his new home. >> and i don't know even in the family. >> reporter: on january 15th, his camp was attacked by militants. his family didn't hear from him again. kenya's defense force brought four caskets home with full military honors, but the corporal was not among them. the somali governme