Clément Abaifouta and so many others , had fought furiously for years to get him there , because people like Rose Lokissim had dared to tell the world what happened in Habré ’ s prisons . The power of their achievement was nothing less than revolutionary .
On May 30 , 2016 , the court convened before a packed audience to deliver its judgment . It found Habré guilty of the commission of crimes against humanity , for the underlying crimes of rape , sexual slavery , the massive and systematic practice of summary executions , and kidnapping of persons followed by their enforced disappearance ) and of torture . It also found him guilty of war crimes , including murder , torture and inhuman treatment , under the principle of command responsibility . The court found Khadidja Hassan Zidane ’ s testimony that Habré raped her to be credible . The court ’ s opinion cited the case of Rose Lokissim 15 times .
Noting that torture and repression were Habré ’ s form of governing , the court sentenced him to life imprisonment .
The conviction and the sentence were upheld on appeal and Habré died on August 24 , 2021 , while serving his life sentence .
After Habré ’ s conviction , several of the protagonists of the victims ’ campaign created a “ Rose Lokissim Association ”, funded principally by the charitable foundation of the exiled Mauritanian businessman Mohamed Bouamatou , to carry on the victims ’ quest for full reparations and to carry the fight to other tyrants such as Gambia ’ s Yahya Jammeh .
Rose was 33 years old when she was killed in 1986 , but thanks to the discovery of her last words , and the tenacity of the survivors in bringing Habré to court , her memory lives on .
As Juliette Binoche says in the film , « Rose ’ s chosen mission , for the world to know the truth about Hissène Habré ’ s prisons , is finally being achieved ».
And history is indeed talking about Rose .
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4 . Working Visit of President Hissène Habré of Chad and His Departure Statements at The Diplomatic Entrance , 6 / 19 / 1987 . Series : Reagan White House Photographs , 1 / 20 / 1981 - 1 / 20 / 1989 Collection : White House Photographic Collection , 1 / 20 / 1981 - 1 / 20 / 1989 . Public domain .
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5 . Khadidja Hassan Zidane holds a picture of herself before her arrest and another while she was testifying at the trial of Hissène Habré in N ’ Djaména , Chad . © 2016 Reed Brody for Human Rights Watch
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