- Kim Kardashian is testifying in the Paris trial for her 2016 robbery
- The reality star was robbed in the country at gunpoint in 2016
- The group, known as the Grandpa Robbers, is currently on trial for the crime
Kim Kardashian is in Paris to testify in the trial for her 2016 robbery. In October 2016, the reality star was robbed in her Paris hotel room during Fashion Week at gunpoint.
The incident made international news as rumors suggested the employees of Hotel de Pourtalès may’ve been in on the crime. However, the group appearing in court is made up of 10 men. They are known as the Grandpa Robbers, who were allegedly involved in the crimes.
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From Kardashian, the group stole upwards of $9 million in jewellery, and today she is testifying against them.
Find out what the star has said in court here.
Disclaimer: These reports are based on live blogs and court reporting from reporters in Paris.
What has Kim Kardashian said on the stand?
Kardashian, 44, has bravely arrived and testified in the robbery case. In the early afternoon, Kardashian and her legal team, complete with mom Kris Jenner, arrived at the French court.
According to reporters and live blogs in the courtroom, Kardashian allegedly began by introducing herself. She said to the court, “Hi. I’m Kim Kardashian, and I just want to thank everyone, especially the French authorities, for allowing me to be here and testify today and allowing me to share my truth.”
After this, the judge, who is French, explains in French how the court system there works. An interpreter is on hand to explain this to Kardashian, who is American.
On the stand, Kardashian reportedly gives a recount of what happened on 3 October 2016.
“I came to Paris for Fashion Week, and Paris is always a place that I love so much. I used to walk around the city when I woke up in the middle of the night at 03:00 or 04:00, take walks around the city,” she reportedly tells the court.
She explains she feels “safe” walking around, but this trip “changed everything”, resulting in her getting teary-eyed.
What did Kardashian say in her testimony?
Next, the reality star describes how she was getting ready to go to bed around 3:00 am. Hearing noises, she says she called her sister’s name (Kourtney) but heard no answer. At that point, two men came into her room who she “thought were police officers,” she says in court.
Upstairs in the room, the men had brought the night receptionist with them. The man, Abderrahmane Ouatik, was handcuffed, according to Kardashian.
“I was very confused when they first walked in – I had to make sense of what was happening… I was just about to fall asleep,” Kardashian recalls. She also adds that she fell asleep with just a robe on.
In English, she asked Ouatik what was going on as she knew he spoke English. “And I think that confused me a bit more – not understanding if he was a part of this or he wasn’t,” says Kardashian to the court.
After, Kardashian says she understood that “he was just a victim” like her.
The robbers wanted a specific ring, she says
When they came into her room, she described how the robbers allegedly asked repeatedly for a ring.
“I was still in such shock, because honestly, a lot of terrorist attacks were going on in the world me and my friends were talking about what was going on in the world and… I didn’t get what was happening, and I didn’t get it was about my jewellery, even though they specifically asked for my ring,” Kardashian says to the court.
After she recalls, one of the men found the ring by her bed. On who took the ring, she said it was a man who was shorter than the others.
“The taller one was looking through my stuff and had found the jewellery box, and he said: ‘aha, aha!’ – excited and grateful that he found more jewellery,” Kardashian recalls.
Kim Kardashian recalls being held at gunpoint
When the sounds in the room got louder, she reached for her phone to call her bodyguard.
One of the men snatched her phone, and she says she heard French and claims, “I saw a gun”.
“They picked me up off the bed and grabbed me and took me down the hallway to look for more jewellery, more stuff,” Kardashian recalls.
She says she saw the gun when they took her to the other room. At this point, a gun was pressed into her back, allegedly.
In a moment, she says she thought about running for it. But she “just stayed” and thought she should “do whatever they say”.
What happened to her?
She says she was thrown on the bed and her hands were bound with zip ties. She recalls that she told the concierge, “Please translate to them that I have babies, I have to make it home.”
As she says this, Kardashian recalls how one of the robbers leaned in to whisper that she would be ok.
While that happened, she says one of the men pulled her towards him. Thinking that because she was naked and in just a robe, she says, “I’m certain that’s the moment he rapes me. I say a prayer to mentally prepare myself”.
Kim Kardashian thought she was going to die
However, that does not happen as her legs are tied together, and a gun is held to her.
“At that point, I was sure that’s when they were going to shoot me,” says Kardashian to the court. “So I said a prayer for my family and my mom and my sister and best friend.”
In that moment, she says she thought about those in her prayers walking in the room, and she “hoped they would have an OK life after”.
She says she knew her sister Kourtney would be coming home then. She feared her sister would find her shot dead on the bed with that memory for life.
After this, the judge asked her if that was when she thought she’d die.
The reality star says in response, “I absolutely did think I was gonna die.”
Kim Kardashian was put on the bathroom floor
Now Kardashian says one of the intruders put her on the bathroom floor. She says the man hesitated to drop her in the bath. In fact, she says he “kinda dropped me on the floor as if something was frantic and they had to get out quickly.”
After waiting a few minutes and hearing no more noises, Kardashian says she began to free herself. She did this by rubbing the zip ties on her wrist against the tap.
However, her ankles were still tied and her mouth taped.
She got the tape off her mouth. Then she found her stylist, Simone Harouch,e in her room to assist in removing the ties.
Hiding away
To get to her, she says she had to hop into her room. Simone reportedly told the court this in her testimony.
Once freed, Harouche and Kardashian ran onto the balcony and hid in the bushes.
“I remember calling my mum from the bushes to let her know what happened, and then I think while we were waiting for my security to come, Simone and I were trying to come up with a plan – if they come back, should we just jump out the window?” Kardashian told the court.
However, at this point, Kardashian’s security and her sister Kourtney arrived and the police arrived.
After seeing the police, Kardashian recalls being confused. This is because she did not know if they were real police or if she could trust them.
They spoke to the authorities about the incident and left to go back to New York.
The judge asked Kardashian to describe how she felt when being interviewed by police.
To the court, she says, “In a state of shock, honestly – wondering who I can trust, what if one of them is dressed like police but is really in on it?”
The statement
Here, the court looks at her statement. In it, she allegedly writes she’s scared at the time the robbers will come back.
“I’m not sure, it was just an instinct,” she says, since she had not been through that before. She clarifies that she thought they may return “maybe to kill us so there were no witnesses.”
Not wanting to chance it, Kardashian said she wanted to hide instead.
When being shown pictures of the suspects, she said she was surprised they were older.
“I thought they were younger,” she states.
Another shocking revelation came when she spoke with investigators. They told her the robbers had thought of robbing her with her ex-husband, Kanye West, there. However, they were too scared. So, they had to reschedule for when she was alone.
The judge asks Kardashian if she thought info that wasn’t public could’ve been passed on to the men.
Kardashian responds and says she thought they could “probably” see where they were staying, as it was only one story up. However, they would’ve needed to be told that she didn’t go to the club, Kardashian says.
For context, her sister Kourtney was at a nightclub that night.
She also suggests that anyone could’ve staked out the hotel to know who and what cars were coming and going.
The TV episode
Following her recollection of the event, the judge asked Kardashian about her statements in one episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. He asked whether she remembered a statement she made where she said she thought the robbers had been following her trip through Snapchat.
To the judge, she says she remembers the statement as she was trying to figure out how they knew she was there.
However, she says she went back and watched the Snapchat she posted, which did not happen on the same night as the robbery. She says she was staying in so she could get a spray tan for a Balenciaga show the next day, as she planned to wear no makeup, so she wanted to wear fake tan.
“So I think the media got confused and posted that Snapchat as if it was the same night,” she suggests.
In one question, the star is asked if this is her first time back in Paris since the robbery. To the question, she says, no, as she came for a fashion show of a friend but did not stay the night, as she did not want to stay overnight in Paris.
At this point, one of the defendant’s letters to the star was read. In the letter, Aomar Ait Khedache, who has admitted to his guilt, said he regretted his actions against Kardashian and the “psychological harm” he did to her.
The letter says more, but for time’s sake, that is a snippet.
Kardashian tells Khedache she forgives him
Kardashian did not know about this letter, and at this point, she is asked if she has anything to say to him.
“I am obviously emotional about it – this experience changed my life, my family’s life,” she responds.
She also adds that she works in the justice system in the US and wants to be a lawyer, and she fights “for people to seek justice”.
She tells him that she forgives him, but adds, “It doesn’t change the emotion, the feelings, and the trauma and the way my life has changed.”
Kardashian reflects on the accusations
Once the court returned, the star reflected on the accusations that she had made up the robbery for insurance purposes in a question asked by her lawyer.
“It was really hurtful and something that really stung deeply. Then I remember waking up one morning and the French press saying they had caught the people involved.”
She also recalls speaking to the French authorities and says she was “so grateful” for them.
As she has described the way the robbers interacted, her lawyer asks her if she thought she’d be raped because of that and if that was the “first time” she thought that to which she says yes.
Later, she is asked about the media dubbing the men as “Grandpa robbers,” which Kardashian says she found it “a little frustrating” as it wasn’t how it felt to her.
On one of the defendants, Yunice Abbas, who wrote the book about his part in the robbery, Kardashian said it wasn’t “fair” that he made money off it and that she couldn’t get back the “memories” from her jewellery.
Life is different, Kardashian says
On how her lifestyle is different because of the robbery, Kardashian responds to the question by saying it’s “completely different now”.
She lists off a few ways, including how security sleeps outside hotel doors, drives her cars, and how she never posts in real-time.
With her jewellery, she says she takes it off and sends it to a safe deposit place before going home.
This is because she cannot sleep if her jewellery is near her babies, she says.
She reflects on the impact and says now she has “security around [her] house,” and she tries to be “strong and protective” even if the security is considered ridiculous.
Kim Kardashian prison reform
The star also said she went through therapy.
The lawyer asks Kardashian about her prison reform work, to which she explains working with people who have committed crimes.
“So I am empathetic towards people who have committed crimes and their families. I really do believe in second chances and rehabilitation, and I work in the justice system to help provide those rehabilitation experiences,” she says.
Kardashian says her therapy helped her to understand why the receptionist (Ouatiki) was calm during the robbery. This was in response to a question his lawyer asked her.
“Looking back at it, I understand he was just trying to survive, just like me, and he was in it with me, not against me,” she said.
One lawyer takes over and asks Kardashian what she wants from the case. At this point, the 44-year-old says she wants to hear from everyone. She believes this because she wants to become a lawyer and thinks everyone has the chance to “speak their truth” and that the trial is “closure” and her chance to “put this to rest”.
On her job, she says it is to “tell my truth and hope this doesn’t happen to anyone else”.
Guilt and regret
One of the lawyers asks Kardashian if she thinks that some suspects expressing regret while not revealing who is in the gang is contradictory.
To this, she replies that she believes “two things can be true” and regret can be real, and she accepts their apology. However, she says she thinks they “don’t want to snitch” so they don’t get into more trouble.
At this point, she is asked why she is always using social media.
Kardashian says it is a “business tool” for her, and in many cases, it’s “in the contracts” to make some social media posts.
She argues you can sell products through a big social media following and that having posts of your “every move” online is normal in the USA.
A prosecutor says Kardashian did not describe her robbery as violent, nor with the things she endured. She responds by saying that in the US, violent acts have a different intention, but she does say the experience was violating for her.
Later, she is asked about the changes to her security, who is with her in court, and she jokes that it is “a little more pricey”.
And there you have it, there is the testimony of Kardashian so far, as reported through live blogs.
If there are more updates, we will let you know.
