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American celebrity and reality TV star Kim Kardashian is facing her alleged attackers for the first time in a French court.
On Tuesday, May 13, 2025, the 44-year-old mother of four entered the Palais de Justice in Paris dripping in jewels, a seeming act of defiance against those accused of robbing her at gunpoint in 2016, according to NBC News. Her testimony comes nine years after a gang of alleged career criminals dubbed the “Grandpa Robbers” forced their way into her Hôtel de Pourtalès accommodations — during Paris Fashion Week — dressed as lawmen.
Yunis Abbas, 71, who penned the book I Held Up Kim Kardashian, is among the nine men and one woman primarily in their 70s accused of tying Kardashian down with zip ties and making away with between $9 and $10 million in jewelry. Among the items was the victim’s $4 million engagement ring, according to The New York Times.
Kim Kardashian testifies in Paris court
Recounting the ordeal, Kardashian testified she was “obviously very confused” when the attackers dressed as police officers entered the luxury suite. With them was the concierge, Abderrahmane Ouatiki, handcuffed and captive. She repeatedly asked the concierge, “What’s happening?” hoping he could translate her words to the robbers, according to NBC News.
“I said to the concierge, ‘I have babies, tell them, I just have to make it home.’”
According to Kardashian, Ouatiki told her, “I don’t know if we’re going to die.”
The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star described being “grabbed and dragged” from room to room when one of the men wrapped her hands and mouth with tape, and another pointed a gun at her. She was pushed onto a bed when one grabbed her legs and pulled her.
“I’m naked, and everything is exposed,” she said. “I was sure that I was going to be raped.”
She feared her sister, Kourtney Kardashian, would return to their hotel suite to find her “dead on the bed, shot dead.”
Prompted by Judge David De Pas’ questioning, Kardashian stated, “I absolutely thought I was going to die.”
After the robbers left, Kardashian said she shimmied to the bathroom sink and removed the tape from her hands before heading to a downstairs suite where her stylist and longtime friend, Simone Harouche, cut the zip ties from her ankles, according to NBC News.
Kardashian admitted in court that she struggled to note her attackers’ identifying features.
“You start thinking about your family, and it all goes out the door,” she continued.
Fearing the group would return, Kardashian hid in the bushes until Kourtney Kardashian and her security returned. Even then, she “didn’t know who to trust” since the assailants were dressed in police uniforms.
Kardashian has repeatedly spoken publicly about her fractured sense of security since.
Kim Kardashian on victim advocacy
Kardashian, the star of Oxygen’s Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project and daughter of the late and esteemed attorney Robert Kardashian Sr., leaned on her work in crime advocacy to come to terms with what happened. As reported by news outlet France 24, she gave a tearful response after defendant Aomar Khedache — who is deaf — had his apology letter read in open court.
“I wanted so badly to be a lawyer and fight for people … I’ve always believed in a second chance,” Kardashian said. “I forgive you for what has taken place, but it does not change the emotion, the feelings, the trauma, and the way it changed my life.”
Khedache, believed to be the mastermind in the heist, said he was “forever grateful” for Kardashian’s mercy, citing it as “a sunshine that has enlightened me,” Reuters reported.
Kardashian has used her billion-dollar platform to be a voice for many cases she believes demand justice. In October 2024, she penned an op-ed in defense of convicted brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez in a case that has captivated the nation since 1989. In 2022, she hosted the true crime podcast The System: The Case of Kevin Keith, about a former death row prisoner convicted of a 1994 triple homicide in Ohio.
These are only a few of the many individuals Kardashian has advocated for in her ongoing pursuit of criminal justice reform.
The trial in France is expected to continue into late May when three judges and a six-person jury will decide the defendants’ fates, according to the New York Times.