Celebrated Malian singer Rokia Traore, detained in Rome since June over an international child custody case, is set to be extradited to Belgium after Italy’s highest court dismissed her appeal, her lawyer announced on Wednesday.
Traore, 50, is a globally renowned vocalist and UNHCR goodwill ambassador. She was arrested on June 20 at Rome’s Fiumicino airport under a European arrest warrant, following a two-year prison sentence issued in Belgium in October 2023 over a custody battle concerning her daughter.
Lawyer Maddalena Del Re criticized the legal process, claiming Traore’s rights were ignored by Belgian authorities. “Rokia suffered an injustice. She was convicted without her voice being heard. The fight for her rights now shifts to Brussels,” Del Re stated.
Traore has been held in Civitavecchia prison near Rome, where she arrived for a concert near the Colosseum. Italy’s Court of Cassation upheld the extradition, citing a European Court of Justice ruling, despite her lawyer arguing it violated Italian constitutional principles and international conventions due to the trial being held in her absence.
The custody dispute dates back to 2020 when Traore was first arrested in France for defying a Belgian court order to surrender her daughter to her estranged partner. Released conditionally, she later fled to Mali on a private flight, contravening travel restrictions. Her daughter currently resides in Mali.
