Latest news with #YuniceAbbas
Sky News
23-05-2025
- Sky News
Kim Kardashian verdict: Group dubbed the 'grandpa robbers' found guilty over gunpoint robbery at Paris hotel
Why you can trust Sky News A group dubbed the "grandpa robbers" have been found guilty of crimes connected to the gunpoint robbery of Kim Kardashian at a Paris hotel. A six-member jury, led by three judges, reached a verdict on Friday following a four-week trial at Paris's Palais de Justice. The court found the ringleader and seven others guilty over the 2016 robbery. It acquitted two of the 10 defendants. Nine men and one woman, with an average age of 70, were facing charges including armed robbery, kidnapping and gang association. 2:02 They were accused of pulling off one of the most audacious heists against a celebrity in modern French history in the early hours of 3 October 2016, storming Kardashian 's luxury hotel apartment and stealing jewellery worth an estimated $6m (£4.4m) at gunpoint. During the robbery, Kardashian, who previously told the court she thought she would be raped and killed, was bound with zip-ties and left in the bathtub. She described the robbery as "terrifying" and said while she felt forgiveness, that in no way altered "the emotion and the feelings and the trauma," adding "my life is forever changed". Two members of the group Aomar Ait Khedache, known as "Old Omar", and Yunice Abbas, who wrote a book called I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian, admitted some part in the robbery, while the remaining eight denied the charges. Prosecutors had requested sentences of up to 10 years. Kardashian, who earlier this week completed her six-year legal apprenticeship in California, was not present to hear the verdict. 1:02 The jewellery, which is understood to have been sold in Belgium, was never found. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Justice at last for Kim Kardashian: Ringleader of gang who tied up star in gun-point Paris robbery is found GUILTY - nine years after jewellery heist
After 11 hours of deliberation, the ringleader of a gang that tied up and robbed the billionaire reality TV star Kim Kardashian has been found guilty by a Paris court. Aomar Ait Khedache, 69, unable to speak or hear due to illness, read the presiding judge's verdict from a screen, as he had followed the whole trial. Seven out of nine of the defendants in the case were found guilty of crimes linked to the robbery. Ms Kardashian, who is now 44, lost $10million-worth of jewellery in the October 2016 raid, including a $4million engagement ring from her ex-husband, the rapper Kanye West, that has never been recovered. Prosecutor General Anne-Dominique Merville earlier told the court that Khedache – who has multiple convictions for drugs running and robbery – should spend the next 10 years in prison. She said he was 'now of a certain age and showed no risk of reoffending' but should 'pay for his crimes.' Khedache begged for forgiveness on Friday, just before the jury in Paris retired to consider their verdict. 'I can't find the words to say how sorry I am,' he told the court. Khedache is now almost mute and partially deaf following years of ill health. Accused robber Yunice Abbas arrives for the last day of verdict of the Tronchet trial for the 2016 robbery and kidnapping of US celebrity Kim Kardashian at the Assize Court of Paris, on May 23, 2025 'I offer a thousand apologies,' he scribbled on a piece of paper, before his claims were displayed on a screen inside the historic Voltaire Chamber of the court. During an emotional testimony to the court last week, Ms Kardashian said she had feared she would not survive the raid. Trial judge David De Pas asked her directly during court questioning: 'Did you think you were going to die, Madam?' She replied: 'Absolutely, I was certain I was going to die.' Khedache initially denied being the mastermind of the heist, saying there was a mysterious 'X or Ben' who was ultimately responsible. But Ms Merville said there was ample proof that Aït Khedache 'gave the orders', and then went to Antwerp, Belgium, to try and sell the swag. A 10-year prison sentence was also initially requested for Yunice Abbas, 72, and the only other defendant to plead guilty. While on remand, Abbas wrote a book called 'I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian,' which became a gift to prosecutors. During his own words to the court on Friday, Abbas said: 'Once again, I have nothing but regrets to offer you; I'm sorry for what I did.' The same sentence was requested for Didier Dubreucq, 69, who was allegedly the second robber to enter the Kardashian's penthouse, along with Khedache, who is also known as 'Old Omar'. Abderrahmane Ouatiki, right, who was working as a hotel receptionist, arrives for the verdict in the Kim Kadashian heist during the Paris Fashion Week in 2016, Friday, May 23, 2025 Lesser sentences were requested for other members of the gang who, like Dubreucq, had all denied any wrongdoing. All of them were allowed to address the court for the last time today, before the jury retired. Most of the key defendants are in their 60s and 70s, meaning they have been dubbed the 'Grandpa Robbers'. There is one woman defendant – Cathy Glotin, 78, who was once Aït Khedache's mistress. She has continually pleaded her innocence, saying on Friday: 'I had nothing to do with this case, and look forward to being reunited with my family.' But the veteran criminal is said to have provided 'secretarial services' to the gang, including providing burner phones. Glotin also travelled to Antwerp – the diamond capital of Europe – with Aït Khedache to sell the swag, the prosecution claimed. It could have asked for sentences of up to 30 years, but the defendants' ages and poor health are the reasons for relatively low ones been requested. The vast majority of defendants were imprisoned in January 2017, three months after the robbery. But then they were released on bail, meaning they were all free when the trial started in April. Last week a sobbing Ms Kardashian told the Paris court she forgave the defendant. The social media star said: 'I just want to be heard and understood. I appreciate the letter, those words. I forgive you. But it doesn't change the emotion and the feelings, the trauma, and my life being changed forever,' after the judge read aloud an apology note written to Kardashian in 2017 by Khedache. 'I came to Paris for fashion week, Paris was always a place that I loved so much. I used to walk around the city when I woke up in the middle of the night. I always felt very safe.' Kardashian told the court on May 13. 'It was around three in the morning. I heard stomping up the stairs when I was in bed. I kept calling out for my sister and one of my best friends, but no one answered me. And in my bedroom come in a few police officers, or what I assumed were police officers as they were in police uniforms,' she said, recalling the night of the robbery. She told the court that the attackers arrived dressed as police officers, with the concierge in handcuffs. Kardashian described how they tied her hands with cable ties, dragged her to the bathtub and pointed a gun at her temple. One robber gestured toward her ring. 'Then I heard one of the gentlemen forcefully say 'Ring! Ring!' in English, with an accent, pointing'. The suspects were accused of tying up Kardashian with zip ties and duct tape before making off with jewellery, including a $4million engagement ring given to her by her then-husband rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye), according to investigators. 'And I was still in such shock, because honestly a lot of terrorist attacks were happening in the world, and I thought it was some sort of terrorist attack, and I didn't immediately understand it was for my jewellery. 'They pulled me back in the room once they realised they had everything, and they threw me on the bed. 'I was pretty hysterical and I just looked at the concierge and told him what is going to happen to us, I have to make it home to my babies,' Kardashian said. She said at one point she feared she was going to be raped as the robbers threw her on the bed and one of them grabbed her leg. 'But he ended up tying me up and closed my legs,' she added. 'I thought about my sister, thought she would walk in and see me shot dead and have that memory in her forever. 'I absolutely thought I was going to die. 'After a few minutes, I didn't hear anything, so I (moved over) to the sink, and it was a marble sink so I cut my ties. 'When I got downstairs, Simone (her stylist) let me know that she had called my sister Kourtney, and her and the security were on the way. We weren't sure at that point if they were going to come back. So we ran on the balcony to hide in the bushes. 'I remember calling my mom from the bushes to let her know what happened. And then I think while we were waiting for my security, we were trying to come up with a plan, if we should jump from the window, as it was just a one-storey building.' Kardashian, who once shared nearly every moment of her life online, later acknowledged the role that visibility played. 'People were watching,' she said in a 2021 interview. 'They knew what I had. They knew where I was.' 'Now I have between four and six security (personnel) at home for me to feel safe. I think there are people who hear these stories and then they want to copycat. My house in Los Angeles was robbed just after what happened in Paris. 'I can't sleep at night if there aren't multiple security people.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kim Kardashian Says 'I Was Sure I Was Going to Be Raped' During Emotional Testimony About Paris Robbery
Kim Kardashian testified Tuesday, May 13 at the trial for the suspects involved in the October 2016 Paris heist The reality star was tied up and held at gunpoint as five masked men robbed her of jewelry worth nearly $9 million Ten people are on trial, including Yunice Abbas, who co-authored the 2021 book I Kidnapped Kim KardashianKim Kardashian is testifying at the trial for the suspects involved in the 2016 robbery in which the reality star was tied up and held at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room. Kardashian, 44, was asked at one point if she thought she was going to die during the robbery, to which she replied, "I absolutely did think I was gonna die." Ten people are being tried on charges related to the heist, according to the New York Times, NBC News and ABC News. The group has been dubbed the "Grandpa robbers" by French media due to their older ages and previous criminal history, according to ABC News. Kardashian was visiting the city for Fashion Week in October 2016 when five masked men broke into her room at the No Address Hotel and tied her up at gunpoint before locking her in a bathroom. The thieves stole millions of dollars worth of jewelry from the reality star in the middle of the night. The SKIMS co-founder has said the robbers took two diamond Cartier bracelets, a gold and diamond Jacob necklace, Lorraine Schwartz diamond earrings, a gold Rolex and other items during the heist, according to French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche. A $4 million ring gifted to her by then-husband Kanye West was also among the items stolen. A source close to the reality star told PEOPLE in 2016 that she managed to escape after wriggling her hands out of the zip ties. A second source told PEOPLE that Kardashian then "screamed from the balcony" for help. Kardashian previously said she believed the perpetrators tracked her via social media. French police initially arrested 17 suspects across France in connection with the armed robbery in January 2017. Half of the 10 suspects currently on trial are considered alleged accomplices. One of the men indicted by prosecutors is the younger brother of Kardashian's Paris chauffeur. One of the suspects on trial, Yunice Abbas, 71, has publicly admitted to his involvement in the crime. He co-authored the 2021 book I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian, in which he identified himself as one of the robbers behind the heist. Since then, Abbas has testified that he had no role in choosing the title of the book, which he claims misrepresents his actions, NBC News reported. 'I regret it, not because I got caught, but because ... there was a trauma,' Abbas testified on April 29, per NBC News. According to the Times, the stolen jewelry was estimated to be worth nearly $9 million and most of it was never recovered. Read the original article on People
The Herald
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald
'I have babies, and I have to live', Kim Kardashian told Paris robbers, stylist tells court
When the robbers left and Kardashian joined her downstairs, 'she was beside herself, I've never seen her like that before', Harouche said. 'She 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?'' Harouche cried at times during her testimony and said she had changed careers and underwent therapy because of the robbery, which she said caused her post-traumatic stress and made her fearful of being around celebrities. In 2020 Kardashian told US talk show host David Letterman about the heist in an interview, fighting back tears as she recalled her fears of being raped that night. 'They kept on saying 'the ring, the ring',' Kardashian said. 'I kept looking at the concierge,' she continued, referring to the concierge of the exclusive hotel who had been forced at gunpoint to lead the gang to her apartment. 'I was like, 'Are we gonna die? Just tell them I have children, I have babies, I have to get home'.' 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 he and others who took part in the robbery did not know who Kardashian was.
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Kim Kardashian arrives at Paris court wearing diamond jewellery and with mum Kris Jenner by her side as she prepares to testify in $10M heist trial
Kim Kardashian sported a lavish diamond necklace and earrings as she prepared to testify at the trial of a gang accused of robbing her at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room in 2016. The influencer, 44, was joined by her mother Kris Jenner as she made her way into the court room on Tuesday afternoon. The suspects are accused of tying up the billionaire celebrity with zip ties and duct tape before making off with jewels, including a $4 million engagement ring given to her by her then-husband rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye), according to investigators. Early on Tuesday, hours before Kardashian's testimony, dozens of journalists queued up to get into the tribunal. Kardashian told David Letterman about the heist in a 2020 interview, fighting back tears as she recalled her fears of being raped that night. 'They kept on saying 'the ring, the ring',' Kardashian said. 'I kept looking at the concierge,' she continued, referring to the concierge of the exclusive hotel who had been forced at gunpoint to lead the gang to her apartment. 'I was like, 'Are we gonna die? Just tell them I have children, I have babies ... I have to get home'.' 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 - writing 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. There is no possibility of a guilty plea in such cases and Abbas is standing trial despite admitting to playing a role in the robbery. Frank Berton, a lawyer representing 68-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, nicknamed 'Omar the Old,' said last month he hoped the fact that Kardashian is a global star won't affect the trial. Khedache is accused of being the gang's ringleader, which he denies. 'This trial attracts international attention because of who the plaintiff, the victim, is,' Berton said. 'What we hope is that it won't change anything in the way the facts are judged,' he said. (Writing by Ingrid Melander, reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro; Editing by Michael Perry)
