Celebrated Malian singer Rokia Traoré was arrested at Rome’s Fiumicino airport, as she arrived for a concert, according to reports from Italian media. The arrest follows a conviction in Belgium related to a child custody dispute.
A spokesperson for Fiumicino airport confirmed to AFP that border police had detained Traoré on Sunday. This marks a significant development in a prolonged legal battle involving the singer and her Belgian former partner.
Traoré’s legal troubles began in 2020 when she was detained in France under a Belgian arrest warrant. This followed her failure to comply with a court order to hand over her daughter to her Belgian father. Although she was conditionally released after several months, she left France for Mali on a private flight, defying a travel ban imposed until her extradition to Belgium was resolved.
In October 2023, a Belgian court sentenced Traoré in absentia to two years in prison for parental abduction, citing her failure to surrender her daughter to her father, who holds legal custody. Her daughter, now nine, has been living in Mali since she was four. The child’s father has reportedly had no contact with his daughter during this time.
Initially arrested while traveling from Mali to Brussels to appeal the custody decision, Traoré’s detention in 2020 sparked diplomatic tensions. Mali’s government supported her, highlighting her diplomatic passport.
Rokia Traoré is renowned not only for her musical achievements but also for her humanitarian efforts. She has received multiple accolades, including the BBC Award for World Music in 2004 and the 2009 World Music Album of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique, the French equivalent of the Grammys. In addition to her artistic contributions, she has been a goodwill ambassador for the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees since 2015, advocating for refugees in West and Central Africa.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Emmanuel Mensah