Malian artist Rokia Traoré incarcerated in France

Text by: RFI Follow

According to her lawyer, the singer was arrested on Tuesday when she got off the plane at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, near Paris. At the origin of this arrest, a conflict around the custody of his daughter.

Publicity

The international arrest warrant of which Rokia Traoré is the subject, was issued at the end of last year by Belgian justice for "kidnapping, forcible confinement and hostage taking". The facts relate to the girl that Rokia Traore had with her ex-Belgian companion, Jans Goosens.

The Brussels Court of First Instance gave sole custody of the child to his father, a decision which the Malian singer appealed.

This Tuesday, she was arriving from Bamako to go to Belgium where she was to attend her hearing before the Brussels Court of Appeal. She was finally arrested during her stopover in Paris, according to her lawyer, Maître Kenneth Feliho.

Complaint against ex-companion

He also explains that Rokia Traore refuses to hand over her daughter to her ex-boyfriend, because a complaint has been filed against the latter for sexual touching of the child.

Rokia Traoré is currently in custody at the Fleury-Mérogis prison while waiting for the Paris court's investigative chamber to decide on his extradition to Belgium next Wednesday. The artist faces a five-year prison sentence, according to Maître Feliho.

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