The court in Senegal found Habre guilty of crimes against humanity, rape, forced slavery and kidnapping as well as ordering the killings of 40,000 people during his rule between 1982 and 1990. Habre had denied the accusations and refused to recognize the legitimacy of the court.
The former President showed little emotion as he heard the verdict, with his face obscured partly by a turban and sunglasses.
Those who suffered under Habre's rule and their families celebrated outside the courthouse in Dakar, Senegal, as women dressed in bright traditional prints danced.
The decision makes Habre the first African former head of state to be convicted on the continent, according to Human Rights Watch. It is also the first time that a court of one country has prosecuted the former ruler of another over human rights crimes, the group said.
"This verdict sends a powerful message that the days when tyrants could brutalize their people, pillage their treasury and escape abroad to a life of luxury are coming to an end," tweeted Human Rights Watch lawyer Reed Brody, who was inside the courthouse.
Habre fled to Senegal in 1990 after his ouster. A Senegalese judge first indicted him in 2000, but the case stalled several times over the years. It wasn't until 2012 that progress was made on the trial, when Macky Sall became Senegal's President and the International Court of Justice ordered either a prosecution or extradition.
Survivors described the main forms of torture, in particular the "arbatachar," which involved tying all four of a prisoner's limbs behind the back to interrupt the bloodstream and induce paralysis, Human Rights Watch reported. Another witness brought wooden sticks to court to demonstrate how his head was squeezed as torture
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