Malian singer Rokia Traoré, arrested on June 21 in Italy following a conviction in Belgium in a case of failure to present a child, will be handed over to Belgium, her lawyer announced on September 26, 2024.
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The Italian justice system has just ruled: the Malian singer Rokia Traorewho was the subject of an international arrest warrant in a case of failure to produce a child, will be handed over to Belgium. within ten days “, announced his lawyer at the end of a hearing before the Court of Appeal in Rome on Thursday.
This is the end of a chase with the law that has lasted for almost 5 years. A relief for Jan Goossens, the singer’s ex-partner, whose lawyer reports that he hopes that, upon the singer’s arrival, ” he will be able to obtain constructive solutions for the well-being and in the interest of his daughter “.
In 2019, the Belgian courts had granted custody of the singer’s daughter to her father, in Belgium, with visiting rights. But, subsequently, the Malian courts had instead granted sole custody to her mother, in Mali.
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Since then, an international arrest warrant had been issued against the Franco-Malian artist by the Belgian justice system, which last year sentenced her in absentia to 2 years in prison for failure to represent a child.
In June, Rokia Traoré was finally arrested in Italy where she was going to a concert.
In the meantime, the singer has appealed the decision of the Brussels court, for a referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). She considers herself the victim of a violation of her rights since she was convicted without a lawyer during the 2023 trial.
She therefore finds herself once again facing the Belgian courts in order to settle the dispute between her and the father of her child. While in Bamako, their young daughter, aged nine, is still waiting for her parents.