Sawt Falasteen - Malian singer Rokia Traore gets suspended jail in Belgian custody case

Traore separated from Belgian playwright Jan Goossens in 2018, three years after their child was born, and the pair have been locked in a legal battle ever since.

A Brussels court had sentenced the 52-year-old singer and guitarist in absentia on charges of child abduction in 2023, but she appealed and demanded a retrial in person.

A lawyer for Goossens said the new ruling would be a "relief" for his client.

"It seems only fair and right for her guilt to be recognised," Romain Delcoigne told AFP.

Traore has been arrested several times in the drawn-out case.

She was extradited in 2024 from Italy to Belgium, where she was incarcerated for close to two months.

After striking a deal with her ex-partner, she was released from custody in January last year.

But the playwright says she failed to uphold her side of the bargain by granting him access just once, last June, to his daughter -- whom he had not seen in more than five years.

Appearing in court in 2024, Traore maintained she did not refuse access to her child, who lives in Mali, but feared she would not be allowed to leave if brought back to Belgium.

This case "has snowballed, it has destroyed my career", she said at the time.

Beyond her musical career, Traore is also known for her advocacy work and was made a UN ambassador for refugees in 2015.

S.Barghouti--SF-PST