Kardashian's stylist recalls 'terror' of Paris robbery

The Advertiser13-05-2025

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian is set to testify at the trial of a gang accused of robbing her at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room in 2016 and stealing jewellery worth millions of dollars.
The suspects are accused of tying up the billionaire celebrity with zip ties and duct tape before making off with jewels, including a $US4 million ($A6.2 million) engagement ring given to her by her then-husband rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye), according to investigators.
Before Kardashian's testimony, her stylist Simone Harouche, who was asleep in the same luxury hotel flat at the time of the attack, spoke to the court on Tuesday morning.
"We've been friends since we were little girls. So when I heard this sound, it was very different, and it woke me up, because it was a sound that I had never heard from Kim. It was terror," Harouche, who was downstairs in the duplex flat, told the court.
"'I have babies, and I have to live' - that's what I heard her say," Harouche recalled on Tuesday, adding that she rushed to lock herself in the bathroom and texted Kardashian's sister Kourtney and their bodyguard for help.
When the robbers left and Kardashian joined her downstairs, "she was beside herself, I've never seen her like that before", Harouche said.
"She just was screaming and kept saying we need to get out of here, we need help, what are we going to do if they come back."
Yunice Abbas, 71, who is among the 10 suspects standing trial, many in their late 60s or 70s and dubbed "the grandpa gang", has told French media that he and others who took part in the robbery did not know who Kardashian was.
"It's not her, it's her diamond we targeted," Abbas told C8 TV a few years ago.
Abbas has admitted his participation in the robbery, and wrote a book about his role.
In interviews with French media, he said he was sorry for what he did and wanted to apologise to Kardashian.
Frank Berton, a lawyer representing 68-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, said in April that he hoped that Kardashian being a global celebrity would not affect the trial.
Khedache is accused of being the gang's ringleader, which he denies.
In all, nine men and one woman are being tried by the criminal court.
Five of them - all men - face armed robbery and kidnapping charges and potentially risk being sentenced to life imprisonment.
The others are charged with complicity in the heist or the unauthorised possession of a weapon.
As the robbers escaped on foot or with bicycles, they lost some of the jewellery, including a cross with six diamonds, which a passerby found in the street and brought to the police.
But most of the jewels, including the $US4 million engagement ring, were never found.
As well as the 10 on trial, one suspect was too ill to be put on trial at this time and one was dead, prosecutors said.
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian is set to testify at the trial of a gang accused of robbing her at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room in 2016 and stealing jewellery worth millions of dollars.
The suspects are accused of tying up the billionaire celebrity with zip ties and duct tape before making off with jewels, including a $US4 million ($A6.2 million) engagement ring given to her by her then-husband rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye), according to investigators.
Before Kardashian's testimony, her stylist Simone Harouche, who was asleep in the same luxury hotel flat at the time of the attack, spoke to the court on Tuesday morning.
"We've been friends since we were little girls. So when I heard this sound, it was very different, and it woke me up, because it was a sound that I had never heard from Kim. It was terror," Harouche, who was downstairs in the duplex flat, told the court.
"'I have babies, and I have to live' - that's what I heard her say," Harouche recalled on Tuesday, adding that she rushed to lock herself in the bathroom and texted Kardashian's sister Kourtney and their bodyguard for help.
When the robbers left and Kardashian joined her downstairs, "she was beside herself, I've never seen her like that before", Harouche said.
"She just was screaming and kept saying we need to get out of here, we need help, what are we going to do if they come back."
Yunice Abbas, 71, who is among the 10 suspects standing trial, many in their late 60s or 70s and dubbed "the grandpa gang", has told French media that he and others who took part in the robbery did not know who Kardashian was.
"It's not her, it's her diamond we targeted," Abbas told C8 TV a few years ago.
Abbas has admitted his participation in the robbery, and wrote a book about his role.
In interviews with French media, he said he was sorry for what he did and wanted to apologise to Kardashian.
Frank Berton, a lawyer representing 68-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, said in April that he hoped that Kardashian being a global celebrity would not affect the trial.
Khedache is accused of being the gang's ringleader, which he denies.
In all, nine men and one woman are being tried by the criminal court.
Five of them - all men - face armed robbery and kidnapping charges and potentially risk being sentenced to life imprisonment.
The others are charged with complicity in the heist or the unauthorised possession of a weapon.
As the robbers escaped on foot or with bicycles, they lost some of the jewellery, including a cross with six diamonds, which a passerby found in the street and brought to the police.
But most of the jewels, including the $US4 million engagement ring, were never found.
As well as the 10 on trial, one suspect was too ill to be put on trial at this time and one was dead, prosecutors said.
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian is set to testify at the trial of a gang accused of robbing her at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room in 2016 and stealing jewellery worth millions of dollars.
The suspects are accused of tying up the billionaire celebrity with zip ties and duct tape before making off with jewels, including a $US4 million ($A6.2 million) engagement ring given to her by her then-husband rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye), according to investigators.
Before Kardashian's testimony, her stylist Simone Harouche, who was asleep in the same luxury hotel flat at the time of the attack, spoke to the court on Tuesday morning.
"We've been friends since we were little girls. So when I heard this sound, it was very different, and it woke me up, because it was a sound that I had never heard from Kim. It was terror," Harouche, who was downstairs in the duplex flat, told the court.
"'I have babies, and I have to live' - that's what I heard her say," Harouche recalled on Tuesday, adding that she rushed to lock herself in the bathroom and texted Kardashian's sister Kourtney and their bodyguard for help.
When the robbers left and Kardashian joined her downstairs, "she was beside herself, I've never seen her like that before", Harouche said.
"She just was screaming and kept saying we need to get out of here, we need help, what are we going to do if they come back."
Yunice Abbas, 71, who is among the 10 suspects standing trial, many in their late 60s or 70s and dubbed "the grandpa gang", has told French media that he and others who took part in the robbery did not know who Kardashian was.
"It's not her, it's her diamond we targeted," Abbas told C8 TV a few years ago.
Abbas has admitted his participation in the robbery, and wrote a book about his role.
In interviews with French media, he said he was sorry for what he did and wanted to apologise to Kardashian.
Frank Berton, a lawyer representing 68-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, said in April that he hoped that Kardashian being a global celebrity would not affect the trial.
Khedache is accused of being the gang's ringleader, which he denies.
In all, nine men and one woman are being tried by the criminal court.
Five of them - all men - face armed robbery and kidnapping charges and potentially risk being sentenced to life imprisonment.
The others are charged with complicity in the heist or the unauthorised possession of a weapon.
As the robbers escaped on foot or with bicycles, they lost some of the jewellery, including a cross with six diamonds, which a passerby found in the street and brought to the police.
But most of the jewels, including the $US4 million engagement ring, were never found.
As well as the 10 on trial, one suspect was too ill to be put on trial at this time and one was dead, prosecutors said.
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian is set to testify at the trial of a gang accused of robbing her at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room in 2016 and stealing jewellery worth millions of dollars.
The suspects are accused of tying up the billionaire celebrity with zip ties and duct tape before making off with jewels, including a $US4 million ($A6.2 million) engagement ring given to her by her then-husband rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye), according to investigators.
Before Kardashian's testimony, her stylist Simone Harouche, who was asleep in the same luxury hotel flat at the time of the attack, spoke to the court on Tuesday morning.
"We've been friends since we were little girls. So when I heard this sound, it was very different, and it woke me up, because it was a sound that I had never heard from Kim. It was terror," Harouche, who was downstairs in the duplex flat, told the court.
"'I have babies, and I have to live' - that's what I heard her say," Harouche recalled on Tuesday, adding that she rushed to lock herself in the bathroom and texted Kardashian's sister Kourtney and their bodyguard for help.
When the robbers left and Kardashian joined her downstairs, "she was beside herself, I've never seen her like that before", Harouche said.
"She just was screaming and kept saying we need to get out of here, we need help, what are we going to do if they come back."
Yunice Abbas, 71, who is among the 10 suspects standing trial, many in their late 60s or 70s and dubbed "the grandpa gang", has told French media that he and others who took part in the robbery did not know who Kardashian was.
"It's not her, it's her diamond we targeted," Abbas told C8 TV a few years ago.
Abbas has admitted his participation in the robbery, and wrote a book about his role.
In interviews with French media, he said he was sorry for what he did and wanted to apologise to Kardashian.
Frank Berton, a lawyer representing 68-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, said in April that he hoped that Kardashian being a global celebrity would not affect the trial.
Khedache is accused of being the gang's ringleader, which he denies.
In all, nine men and one woman are being tried by the criminal court.
Five of them - all men - face armed robbery and kidnapping charges and potentially risk being sentenced to life imprisonment.
The others are charged with complicity in the heist or the unauthorised possession of a weapon.
As the robbers escaped on foot or with bicycles, they lost some of the jewellery, including a cross with six diamonds, which a passerby found in the street and brought to the police.
But most of the jewels, including the $US4 million engagement ring, were never found.
As well as the 10 on trial, one suspect was too ill to be put on trial at this time and one was dead, prosecutors said.

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Pelicot settles Paris Match privacy case over photos

The Advertiser

8 hours ago

The Advertiser

Pelicot settles Paris Match privacy case over photos

Gisele Pelicot, the French woman who became a symbol of courage and resilience during the trial of her ex-husband and 50 other men for repeatedly raping her, has settled with magazine Paris Match after it published photos of her without her consent. The magazine, owned by French luxury group LVMH, has agreed to make two 20,000-euro ($A35,000) payments to associations that support victims of sexual violence, her lawyer Stephane Babonneau said. Pelicot had taken Paris Match to court alleging invasion of privacy but withdrew her case ahead of a court hearing on Wednesday. Pelicot's case against Paris Match raised interesting questions about the right to privacy in France, which has strong laws to protect against intrusions. Pelicot waived her right to anonymity during the rape trial, becoming an internationally recognised figure. The court's ruling would have likely hinged on whether or not there was a public interest in her private life now the trial was over, experts said. "She became a public figure unwillingly," Babonneau told Reuters. "It didn't mean that because she waived her right to anonymity for the trial, she was giving up her right to privacy." The pictures of Pelicot and her partner were taken on the Île de Ré, an island off western France where she now lives. "We had warned Paris Match not to publish these photos ten days before," Babonneau added. A lawyer for Paris Match did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pelicot has said she "never regretted" going public during the trial, which ended last December. Her ex-husband was found guilty of repeatedly drugging and raping her for almost a decade, and inviting dozens of strangers to their home to rape her while unconscious. The other 50 co-defendants were also found guilty of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. Her lawyer said the publication of the pictures shocked her greatly. Sophie Barre, a member of women's rights organisation NousToutes, told Reuters the pictures represented another act of violence after the abuse she had endured. "Her former husband filmed the rapes," she said. "With these pictures, her image is again captured without her consent." Gisele Pelicot, the French woman who became a symbol of courage and resilience during the trial of her ex-husband and 50 other men for repeatedly raping her, has settled with magazine Paris Match after it published photos of her without her consent. The magazine, owned by French luxury group LVMH, has agreed to make two 20,000-euro ($A35,000) payments to associations that support victims of sexual violence, her lawyer Stephane Babonneau said. Pelicot had taken Paris Match to court alleging invasion of privacy but withdrew her case ahead of a court hearing on Wednesday. Pelicot's case against Paris Match raised interesting questions about the right to privacy in France, which has strong laws to protect against intrusions. Pelicot waived her right to anonymity during the rape trial, becoming an internationally recognised figure. The court's ruling would have likely hinged on whether or not there was a public interest in her private life now the trial was over, experts said. "She became a public figure unwillingly," Babonneau told Reuters. "It didn't mean that because she waived her right to anonymity for the trial, she was giving up her right to privacy." The pictures of Pelicot and her partner were taken on the Île de Ré, an island off western France where she now lives. "We had warned Paris Match not to publish these photos ten days before," Babonneau added. A lawyer for Paris Match did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pelicot has said she "never regretted" going public during the trial, which ended last December. Her ex-husband was found guilty of repeatedly drugging and raping her for almost a decade, and inviting dozens of strangers to their home to rape her while unconscious. The other 50 co-defendants were also found guilty of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. Her lawyer said the publication of the pictures shocked her greatly. Sophie Barre, a member of women's rights organisation NousToutes, told Reuters the pictures represented another act of violence after the abuse she had endured. "Her former husband filmed the rapes," she said. "With these pictures, her image is again captured without her consent." Gisele Pelicot, the French woman who became a symbol of courage and resilience during the trial of her ex-husband and 50 other men for repeatedly raping her, has settled with magazine Paris Match after it published photos of her without her consent. The magazine, owned by French luxury group LVMH, has agreed to make two 20,000-euro ($A35,000) payments to associations that support victims of sexual violence, her lawyer Stephane Babonneau said. Pelicot had taken Paris Match to court alleging invasion of privacy but withdrew her case ahead of a court hearing on Wednesday. Pelicot's case against Paris Match raised interesting questions about the right to privacy in France, which has strong laws to protect against intrusions. Pelicot waived her right to anonymity during the rape trial, becoming an internationally recognised figure. The court's ruling would have likely hinged on whether or not there was a public interest in her private life now the trial was over, experts said. "She became a public figure unwillingly," Babonneau told Reuters. "It didn't mean that because she waived her right to anonymity for the trial, she was giving up her right to privacy." The pictures of Pelicot and her partner were taken on the Île de Ré, an island off western France where she now lives. "We had warned Paris Match not to publish these photos ten days before," Babonneau added. A lawyer for Paris Match did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pelicot has said she "never regretted" going public during the trial, which ended last December. Her ex-husband was found guilty of repeatedly drugging and raping her for almost a decade, and inviting dozens of strangers to their home to rape her while unconscious. The other 50 co-defendants were also found guilty of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. Her lawyer said the publication of the pictures shocked her greatly. Sophie Barre, a member of women's rights organisation NousToutes, told Reuters the pictures represented another act of violence after the abuse she had endured. "Her former husband filmed the rapes," she said. "With these pictures, her image is again captured without her consent." Gisele Pelicot, the French woman who became a symbol of courage and resilience during the trial of her ex-husband and 50 other men for repeatedly raping her, has settled with magazine Paris Match after it published photos of her without her consent. The magazine, owned by French luxury group LVMH, has agreed to make two 20,000-euro ($A35,000) payments to associations that support victims of sexual violence, her lawyer Stephane Babonneau said. Pelicot had taken Paris Match to court alleging invasion of privacy but withdrew her case ahead of a court hearing on Wednesday. Pelicot's case against Paris Match raised interesting questions about the right to privacy in France, which has strong laws to protect against intrusions. Pelicot waived her right to anonymity during the rape trial, becoming an internationally recognised figure. The court's ruling would have likely hinged on whether or not there was a public interest in her private life now the trial was over, experts said. "She became a public figure unwillingly," Babonneau told Reuters. "It didn't mean that because she waived her right to anonymity for the trial, she was giving up her right to privacy." The pictures of Pelicot and her partner were taken on the Île de Ré, an island off western France where she now lives. "We had warned Paris Match not to publish these photos ten days before," Babonneau added. A lawyer for Paris Match did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pelicot has said she "never regretted" going public during the trial, which ended last December. Her ex-husband was found guilty of repeatedly drugging and raping her for almost a decade, and inviting dozens of strangers to their home to rape her while unconscious. The other 50 co-defendants were also found guilty of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. Her lawyer said the publication of the pictures shocked her greatly. Sophie Barre, a member of women's rights organisation NousToutes, told Reuters the pictures represented another act of violence after the abuse she had endured. "Her former husband filmed the rapes," she said. "With these pictures, her image is again captured without her consent."