Paris – Kim Kardashian testified on Tuesday that she was afraid to be raped and killed during an armed robbery of 2016 in Paris, describing the terrible experience in solid and emotional terms.
“I was sure that this was the time when he was going to rape me,” Kardashian told a French court, remembering how a thief attracted her to him while she used only one bathing gown. “I absolutely thought I was going to die,” he added.
He marked the first time Kardashian faced the men accused of binding her at gunpoint in her hotel suite during fashion week and stealing more than $ 6 million in jewelry.
His appearance is the emotional peak of an judgment that has taken over France and revived the global debates about celebrities, privacy and exposure of the digital age.
This is a last -minute news update. The previous AP story continues.
Kim Kardashian has reached a court in Paris to testify against men accused of stealing it at a gunpoint in 2016, an event that remodeled her life and redefined the security of celebrities in the era of social networks.
This will be the first time that he faced the alleged assailants since that night, when he begged for his life while the masked men tied her with rolls and stole more than $ 6 million in jewels.
Kardashian’s appearance is expected to be the emotional central piece of a trial that has captivated France, where suspects, mainly in his 60 and 70 years, are nicknamed “grandparents’ thieves.”
The authorities say that the group tracked her through her Instagram publications. Two defendants have admitted to being on the scene.
Her lawyers say she is ready to confront those who attacked her, with dignity.
Earlier, Kardashian The childhood friend and the stylist told the Court that she heard the celebrity beg for her life during the robbery that transformed the way the world saw Fame in the digital era.
Simone Herouche, who shared her two -story hotel suite during Fashion Week, said she heard a terrified screaming: “‘I have babies and I need to live’. That is what she continued by saying: ‘Take everything.
“I was afraid of being raped or raped. I thought the worst,” Herouche said. Kardashian was “screaming in horror in his voice.”
Kardashian, one of the most recognizable figures, will face 10 men accused of orchestrating the robbery, a crime that shook the fashion world and redefined the risks of being visible, women and famous in the Instagram era.
Herouche told the court that the trauma “forever” changed to her friend, whom she knows since the age of 12, stealing her from a basic human right: freedom.
“Now it has a completely different lifestyle,” he said. “In terms of security, she can’t go alone, she doesn’t go alone to places. To lose your sense of freedom … it’s horrible.”
Kardashian’s testimony is expected to tell how the attackers demanded her ring and let her fearing that she would never see her children again.
David de Pas, the main judge, asked Herouche if Kardashian had become an objective by publishing images of herself with “jewels of great value.”
“No,” Herouche replied. “Just because a woman wears jewelry, that does not make her a goal. It’s like saying that because a woman uses a short skirt that deserves to be raped.”
Twelve suspects were originally accused. One has died. Another was excused due to a disease. The majority are in their 60 and 70 years, nicknamed Braqueurs Les Papys, or “the thieves of grandparents”, and the authorities describe them as an experienced and coordinated criminal gang.
Two defendants have admitted to being on the scene. The others deny participation, and one affirms I didn’t know who Kardashian was. But the police say that the group tracked her through social networks, where she had published images of her jewels, her hotel and schedule, exposing her vulnerability.
The robbery made Kardashian a hyper-visibility warning story. At that time, he was in the apogee of his influence: an icon of style, pioneer on social networks and one of the most photographed women in the world.
The fashion legend Karl Lagerfeld criticized her after the robbery, telling Associated Press that it was “Too public” with its wealth. However, as details arose in the days after the robbery, the public feeling changed. The image of Kardashian, alone, tied and pleading for his life, referred to it in the public eye.
Then, Kardashian retired from the attention center. He developed severe anxiety and then described the symptoms of agoraphobia.
“I hated going out,” he said in a 2021 interview. “I didn’t want anyone to know where I was … I only had so much anxiety.”
Later, he acknowledged that the constant exchange had made it vulnerable: “People were looking at,” he said. “They knew what I had. They knew where it was.”
Herouche, who hid in a bathroom below during the robbery, said he also suffered trauma. He sought advice for posttraumatic stress and left the world of celebrities style to become an interior designer.
“That experience was very stressful for me. It made me fear being close to celebrities,” he said.
Herouche said he went to bed before theft. Kardashian entertained friends up. The screams shook Hanouche from his dream.
From inside the closed bath, he sent a text message to Kardashian’s sister, Kourtney and Kardashian bodyguard, which “something is very bad,” Hanuche testified.
Later, after the thieves left, he said he listened to Kardashian climbing the stairs with his ankles still forced to find her.
“He was out of herself,” said Herouche. “She was simply screaming.”
