Malian singer Rokia Traoré is set to be extradited from Italy to Belgium due to a two-year prison sentence resulting from a child custody dispute, her lawyer announced on Thursday.
Traoré was sentenced in absentia by a Brussels court last year on charges of parental abduction. She was arrested in Italy in June and subsequently challenged the extradition order; however, a Rome court ruled that she must be transferred to Belgium within 10 days.
The singer, known for her powerful voice and guitar skills, had previously been arrested in Paris in March 2020 under a European arrest warrant. This was linked to a Belgian court ruling that mandated her to return her nine-year-old daughter to the child’s Belgian father. Defying a travel ban, Traoré left France and returned to Mali several months later.
The lawyer representing the child’s father noted that he has not been in contact with his daughter since she turned four. The father has proposed drafting a new custody agreement with Traoré, which would be validated by both Malian and Belgian courts, to “find a way out of this nightmare and guarantee their child a future with two parents.”
In addition to her acclaimed music career, Traoré is recognized for her advocacy work for refugees and was appointed a UN ambassador for refugees in 2015.
