the essential
Under a European arrest warrant, Malian singer Rokia Traoré was imprisoned in Belgium. Since 2019, this artist involved with refugees has been accused of taking their daughter from the Belgian playwright Jan Goossens. In October 2023, she had already been sentenced to two years in prison for failure to present a child.
Malian singer Rokia Traoré, under a European arrest warrant, was transferred to Brussels on Friday from Italy, where she was arrested last June. “She arrived in Belgium and was imprisoned in Haren prison,” a spokesperson for the prosecution told AFP, without providing further details.
Aged 50, the artist faces a two-year prison sentence for non-representation of a child, handed down in October 2023 by the Brussels court. This decision is part of a legal conflict which has pitted him since 2019 against his former partner, the Belgian playwright Jan Goossens, over the custody of their daughter, born in 2015. Now aged nine and a half, the child lives in Mali, where she goes to school, but her father claims not to have seen her for more than five years.
A second trial in sight
As soon as she arrived in Belgium, Rokia Traoré had to indicate her opposition to the conviction pronounced in absentia, explained her Belgian lawyer, Vincent Lurquin. This step could allow the case to be retried in his presence. However, “she will remain in detention for the duration of this second trial”, specified the spokesperson for the prosecution. A new hearing could be held as early as December.
Me Lurquin declared that he wanted to “find an agreement in the interests of the child” with the opposing party, in order to avoid a new conviction for his client.
In 2020, she fled Paris with her daughter
The dispute is based in particular on the child's main place of residence – in Mali or Belgium – and on the organization of his custody between the two parents. If Jan Goossens, 53, does not claim permanent residence in Brussels, he wants his daughter to spend her vacation in Belgium and for parental responsibility to be shared. “From the beginning, Mr. Goossens wanted to establish a balanced solution, guaranteeing the presence of both parents in their daughter's life, between two countries and two cultures,” said his lawyer, Sven Mary.
Rokia Traoré, opposed to her surrender to Belgium since her arrest in Italy, has exhausted all her legal appeals. The Italian Court of Cassation rejected his final appeal on November 20, paving the way for his transfer. This is not the first time that the singer has faced legal problems: in March 2020, she was arrested in Paris for refusing to comply with a decision by a Belgian judge. She then flew to Mali with her daughter, despite a ban on leaving French territory.
Committed to refugees
Beyond her musical career, hailed on the international scene, Rokia Traoré is known for her commitment to refugees, in collaboration with the United Nations. Jan Goossens, for his part, is a recognized cultural figure in Belgium. Former artistic director of the Royal Flemish Theater (KVS), he also directed the Marseille Festival between 2016 and 2021. The case, combining family and legal issues, remains awaiting a resolution, which could occur during the next trial.
