Kim Kardashian To Testify In Paris Multi-Million-Dollar Robbery Trial
A-list celebrity Kim Kardashian is to testify in a Paris court on Tuesday, an eagerly awaited appearance nearly a decade after masked men robbed her at gunpoint of millions of dollars of jewellery during the French capital's fashion week.
Ten suspects have been on trial since late April over the armed robbery in 2016, which saw jewellery worth some $10 million stolen from the reality TV star and influencer.
The trial has attracted huge media attention, with close to 500 reporters accredited, and the courthouse on Paris's historic Ile de la Cite is expected to come under siege from fans hoping for a glimpse of the celebrity.
Kardashian is ready to "confront" her Paris attackers, her lawyers said last week.
"She is committed to attending in person," French lawyers Leonor Hennerick and Jonathan Mattout told AFP last week, saying she would do so "with dignity and courage".
She is due to take the stand at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT), and is expected to speak to the press afterwards.
On the night of October 2-3, 2016, Kardashian, then 35, was robbed while staying at an exclusive, discreet hotel in central Paris.
She was threatened with a gun to the head and tied up with her mouth taped.
Lawyers have not divulged what exactly Kardashian, who has been keeping abreast of developments at the trial, will say in her court appearance.
During what the French press has dubbed the "heist of the century", masked men walked away with millions of dollars' worth of jewels.
They included a diamond ring given to Kardashian by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West, and valued at 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million).
The theft was the most valuable to target a private individual in France in 20 years.
Those on trial are mainly men in their 60s and 70s with previous criminal records.
They have underworld nicknames like "Old Omar" and "Blue Eyes" that resemble those of old-school French bandits of 1960s and 1970s films noirs.
"They're quite a team," said investigator Michel Malecot.
"But they made some mistakes", he said, notably by leaving DNA that allowed investigators to identify them.
'Crying hysterically'
Sixty-eight-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, known as "Old Omar", has admitted to tying up Kardashian but denies being the mastermind behind the robbery.
Another suspect in the dock, 71-year-old Yunice Abbas, later wrote a book about the heist.
In it he describes how his bag became caught in the wheel of his escape vehicle, a bicycle, causing him to fall off and have to scramble to shove the loot back in the bag.
Investigators said a man called Gary Madar, the brother of Kardashian's driver in Paris, tipped the suspects off that Kardashian was "in French territory".
This allegation has been ridiculed by Madar's lawyer, who remarked that 350 million online followers were already aware of the star's whereabouts.
The night of the robbery could have gone very differently had Kardashian joined her sister Kourtney and gone clubbing, an idea she entertained before deciding to stay in the hotel, the court heard last week.
Her designated driver, Michael Madar -- whose company was billing the Kardashian/West couple up to 400,000 euros per year to provide security -- had been working non-stop for 21 hours and asked a colleague to replace him for the trip to the night club.
The replacement, Mohammed Q., and a Kardashian bodyguard, Pascal D., rushed back to the hotel after Kardashian tried to call them and then failed to pick up her phone when they called back.
"I saw that the lift was on the first floor, where Kim was staying," Pascal D. told the court.
When he found her, Kardashian "was in a terrible state. She was crying hysterically", he told the court.
"I asked what had happened, and she said she'd been robbed."
Kardashian, her lawyers said, "is genuinely grateful" for the way the French authorities have handled the investigation, showing her "the utmost respect and consideration".
The US celebrity, sometimes described as being "famous for being famous", became well known in the early 2000s through TV reality shows, before launching fashion brands and appearing in a number of films.
She is among the world's most followed people on Instagram and X.
She has been named among the 100 most influential people by Time magazine, and among the most powerful women by Fortune magazine.
The trial is set to close on May 23.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Gaza-Bound Activist Boat With Greta Thunberg On Board Intercepted by Israel
Activist Greta Thunberg aboard the Madleen, which departed from Sicily earlier in June to bring humanitarian aid to forces intercepted a sailboat carrying a group of activists, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, who planned to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza in defiance of an Israeli blockade on the enclave. The Israeli foreign ministry said early Monday that the ship was 'safely making its way to the shores of Israel' and that the passengers were expected to return to their home countries. The ministry also posted a video of masked Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and bottled water to the activists. 'The maritime zone off the coast of Gaza is closed to unauthorized vessels under a legal naval blockade, consistent with international law,' the Israeli foreign ministry had earlier said in a social-media post. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the activist group that organized the boat, said Israeli forces had boarded the vessel just after 3 a.m. local time and detained those onboard. The coalition said the interception took place in international waters, posting a set of coordinates north of Egypt's Port Said near the entrance to the Suez Canal. Earlier, activists on the vessel posted videos they said showed the boat being sprayed with an unidentified white substance. The activists gathered in a group holding their hands in the air after throwing their phones overboard, according to a video posted by the group. Asked about the activists' claims, the Israeli military referred to statements from the foreign ministry. The British-flagged 59-foot sailboat, nicknamed Madleen, departed from Sicily earlier in June carrying a cargo of baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women's sanitary products, water desalination kits, and medical supplies, according to the coalition. Also on board the boat were activists from Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Brazil. Among them is a French member of the European Parliament, Rima Hassan. A previous attempted voyage to Gaza by a flotilla of aid ships in 2010 ended in an international fracas when Israeli commandos boarded the vessels, killing 10 Turkish activists on board. The killings caused a rupture in Israel's ties with Turkey, a major Middle East power that was the first Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later apologized over the incident and Israel paid $20 million in compensation to the Turkish civilians who were killed. Organizers of the new sea mission to Gaza said that while the ship is carrying a small amount of aid, the group's mission is a political attempt to challenge Israel's siege of Gaza and potentially open a maritime corridor for other ships to bring aid to the Gaza Strip. The enclave is seeing a humanitarian disaster unfold after a year and a half of war between Israel and the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hamas. 'We are doing this because we have to keep our promise to the Palestinians,' Thunberg said at the launch of the boat earlier in June. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organized the 2010 flotilla and this year's boat, includes a range of pro-Palestinian activist groups from across the world, including the Free Gaza Movement, the European Campaign to End the Siege, and the Turkish nonprofit Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH). The charity is seen as having ties to Turkey's ruling party. The activists' attempt to sail to Gaza comes after a year in which the group struggled to get the mission under way. The group attempted to sail last year from Turkey but was stymied when the African nation of Guinea-Bissau withdrew its flag of convenience from a pair of ships involved in the plan. The new aid ship sailed as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is deepening. Nearly half a million people in Gaza are facing starvation, according to a report in May by a U.N.-backed international famine warning system. Write to Jared Malsin at Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
'Better if he was dead': Kenyan mother's search for son year after mass protests
NAIROBI: Susan Wangari has lost count of the morgues, hospitals and police stations she has visited in search of her son, who went missing at the height of Kenya's mass protests last June. She last saw Emmanuel Mukuria, 24, on the morning of June 25, 2024, the day that thousands of Kenyan youths thronged the streets of Nairobi and stormed parliament in protest at planned tax rises and corruption. "It would be better if my son were dead; at least I could visit his grave," she told AFP. Rights groups say at least 60 people were killed during the protests in June and July, and more than 80 abducted by the security forces since then, with dozens still missing. Mukuria's friends say he was arrested during the protests in the city centre, where he worked as a minibus tout. "We do not have peace in this house," his mother, 50, told AFP during a visit to her single-room home in the Kasarani slum area. "I sleep lightly at night in case he comes knocking at my window like he always did," she said. "Every time we hear that bodies have been found somewhere, we are anxious to know whose they are." Two men told her they shared a cell with Mukuria, but they are too afraid to speak publicly about their ordeal. One was only released in February, giving her hope that her son is still alive in captivity. "They told me they were beaten and questioned about the protests. They were being asked who paid them to participate," Wangari said. Last month, President William Ruto, in a clear admission that security forces had engaged in kidnappings, said all those abducted during the protests had been "returned to their families". Rights groups say dozens are still missing and police have shown little progress in investigating the disappearances despite Ruto claiming an "accountability mechanism" was put in place. Questioned by AFP, the president's office said the police were "handling the brief", while a police spokesman referred AFP back to the president's office.
Pink Villa
an hour ago
- Pink Villa
Yo Yo Honey Singh takes sarcastic dig at Badshah's 'would rather make babies' tweet for Dua Lipa
The rivalry between Yo Yo Honey Singh and Badshah is known to everyone. The two popular rapper-singers often diss each other in their music tracks, apart from opening up about their bond and conflict on public platforms. Recently, Badshah made heads turn with his tweet for International singer Dua Lipa. Reacting to the same, Yo Yo took a sarcastic dig and left fans in splits. Pinkvilla recently reported about Badshah's 'would rather make babies with her (Dua Lipa)' tweet on the social media handle. Reacting to the same, Yo Yo Honey Singh sarcastically commented, 'Genius' with a laugh and three clap emojis. The comment received much traction and became the talk of the town. For the unversed, the rapper had tweeted that he would like to have babies with Dua Lipa while replying to a social media user who asked whether he was producing any tracks with her. Soon after his tweet went viral and faced backlash, Badshah hit back and issued a clarification, "I think one of the most beautiful compliments that you could give to a woman that you really admire is to wish for her to mother your children. Meri soch nahi tumhari soch samne aayi hai (Not mine, it's your intentions that are now revealed)." According to reports, the conflict between Badshah and Yo Yo Honey Singh has been ongoing for years. They were both part of the rap group Mafia Mundeer. Things took a turn for the worse and escalated into a feud following an unknown incident. Both have mocked each other publicly, with Honey Singh claiming that Badshah made fun of his illness. Lately, Badshah mentioned that he wants to move on from the conflict between the two. However, the recent sarcastic comment of Honey fueled the fire a bit more. For those who are unfamiliar, Yo Yo Honey Singh is known for popular tracks such as Brown Rang, Blue Eyes, First Kiss, and Desi Kalakaar, among others. Time and again, he has faced criticism for his provocative lyrics, sparking heated debates on the internet.
