Rokia Traore to be Extradited to Belgium Over Child-Custody Dispute
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- 03 Oct 2024
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Malian singer Rokia Traore will be extradited from Italy to Belgium to serve a two-year prison sentence handed down in a child-custody dispute. The singer and guitarist was sentenced in absentia by a Brussels court last year on charges of parental abduction.
Traore was arrested in Paris in March 2020 on a European arrest warrant over a Belgian court ruling ordering her to return her daughter, now aged nine, to the child's Belgian father, Jan Goossens. She defied a ban on leaving France and flew home to Mali several months later, before she could be sent to Belgium.
A Rome court ruled on Thursday that Traore will have to be transferred to Belgium within 10 days. Her lawyer, Maddalena Claudia Del Re, confirmed the extradition order.
Goossens's lawyer, Sven Mary, expressed hope that Traore's extradition will lead to a constructive solution for the well-being and interests of the child. The child has been living without her parents for months, which can be detrimental to her well-being.
Goossens's legal team had previously offered to draw up a new custody agreement with Traore, validated by Malian and Belgian courts, to find a way out of the dispute and guarantee their child a future with two parents.
Beyond her music career, Traore is also known for her advocacy work for refugees. She was made a UN ambassador for refugees in 2015.
Rokia Traore's extradition to Belgium marks a significant development in the child-custody dispute. The case highlights the complexities of international child-custody disputes and the need for constructive solutions that prioritize the well-being and interests of the child.
