Malian singer Rokia Traore arrested in Italy, faces extradition to Belgium
By Yahaya Idris
Malian singer, Rokia Traore, arrested in Rome in June over an international child custody dispute, will be extradited to Belgium in the coming days after Italy’s highest court rejected her appeal, according to her lawyer on Wednesday.
Global Times Nigeria reports that Traore, 50, is one of Africa’s top vocalists and a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
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“Rokia was subjected to a grave injustice, having been arrested without the opportunity to present her case before the Belgian criminal court. The advocacy for Rokia’s rights will now proceed to Brussels.”
Traore was arrested at Rome’s Fiumicino airport on June 20 under a European arrest warrant, following a two-year prison sentence in Belgium in October 2023 related to a custody battle over her daughter.
Malian singer, Rokia Traore
Following her arrest at Fiumicino, she has been detained in Civitavecchia, near the Italian capital, where she initially intended to perform a concert outside Rome’s historic Colosseum.
In 2020, the singer was first arrested in France due to a Belgian arrest warrant, stemming from her failure to adhere to a court order requiring her to surrender her daughter to her estranged Belgian father.
Recalled that She flew to Mali by private jet, disregarding the instruction to remain in France until her extradition case was resolved, as Mali is where her daughter lives.
