Malian singer Rokia Traore is set to be released from a Belgian prison on Wednesday, following her arrest in Rome last year over an international child custody dispute. Local news agency Belga reported the news, citing her lawyers.
Traore, 50, one of Africa’s most renowned artists, was handed over to Belgian authorities after being arrested in Italy. She was sentenced to two years in prison in absentia by a Belgian court in connection with the custody battle over her daughter.
The legal saga began in 2020 when Traore was arrested in France under a Belgian warrant for failing to comply with a court order in the custody dispute with her estranged Belgian partner, Jan Goossens. After being conditionally released, she flew to Mali in defiance of orders not to leave France while her extradition case was ongoing.
