Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traore is set to be released from a Belgian prison. Traore was detained in Rome last year and subsequently extradited to Belgium to serve a two-year prison sentence for parental abduction, a charge stemming from a legal dispute with the Belgian father of her nine-year-old daughter.
The 50-year-old musician, renowned globally for her distinctive vocal style, was sentenced in absentia by a Brussels court in 2023. She had previously been arrested in France in 2020 on a Belgian warrant related to the same custody dispute.
Traore, a former UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, has faced international outcry over her imprisonment.
Traoré is a renowned advocate for refugees and has garnered numerous accolades, including the 2004 BBC Award for World Music and the 2009 World Music Album of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique, France’s prestigious music awards.
