Malian singer Rokia Traoré, arrested in Italy in June due to a Belgian conviction for child abduction, will be extradited to Belgium within ten days, according to her Italian lawyer Maddalena Claudia Del Re.
Traoré was previously arrested in Paris in March 2020 under a European arrest warrant after a Belgian judge ordered her to return her daughter, now nine years old, to the child’s Belgian father, Jan Goossens. She was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison in October. Despite a travel ban, she flew to Mali with her daughter.
In June, Traoré was arrested at Fiumicino Airport in Rome, where she had landed for a concert. Lawyer Sven Mary, representing the child’s father, stated that his client has had no contact with his daughter, who lives in Mali, for over five years.
“Over the past years, Jan Goossens has regularly proposed a new family agreement to Rokia Traoré, approved by Malian and Belgian courts, to end this nightmare and secure their daughter’s future with both parents,” said Mary. According to the lawyer, Traoré has refused these reconciliation attempts.
Rokia Traoré is not only known for her musical career but also as an activist for refugees. In 2015, she became a UN Ambassador for Refugees.
