Ten people tied to a group nicknamed the “grandpa robbers” went on trial in Paris on Monday over accusations that they plotted and carried out a brazen robbery against Kim Kardashian there nearly a decade ago.
The defendants stood before a criminal court in Paris, accused of involvement in a violent attack on Ms. Kardashian, the reality TV star and entrepreneur. Prosecutors have attributed the crime to a group of grizzled criminals, some of whom are now in their 70s.
Ms. Kardashian, now 44, was gagged, tied up and robbed at gunpoint of jewelry at a luxury residence she had rented during Paris Fashion Week in October 2016. At the time, the jewelry was estimated to be worth at least 8 million euros, or over $9 million.
The overnight robbery of a prominent American celebrity shocked many and raised safety concerns for tourists in Paris, which was still traumatized by a string of terrorist attacks.
Five men dressed as police officers and wearing balaclavas staged the robbery. The thieves burst into her residence and forced the night watchman to guide two of them to Ms. Kardashian’s apartment and to translate.
They tied her up and took valuables and jewels, including a $4 million diamond engagement ring from her then-husband, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, before leaving on foot and on bicycle. Most of the jewelry was not recovered, although a diamond-encrusted cross was dropped in the street during their escape.
Investigators found DNA on the tape and zip ties that were used to bind Ms. Kardashian’s hands and feet, and the police arrested suspects after three months of wiretaps and surveillance.
The defendants include nine men and a woman. Some have been charged with armed robbery in an organized gang, kidnapping and other charges. Others are accused of complicity or of lesser charges. One person who was charged in the case has died, and another is too ill to be tried, the court said.
Only two of the defendants have acknowledged involvement. One is Aomar Aït Khedache, 69, whose DNA was found at the crime scene but who rejects accusations that he was the ringleader. The other is Yunice Abbas, 72, who said that he was a lookout and was given some jewelry and phones as he left but that he never saw Ms. Kardashian.
Mr. Khedache and Mr. Abbas both face life sentences as repeat offenders. Their lawyers said they rarely used social media and did not realize how famous Ms. Kardashian was.
That quickly changed. Mr. Abbas has given numerous interviews since the robbery and wrote a book, “I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian,” published in 2021. In it, he says he knew “little or nothing” about her before the heist.
“My America,” he wrote, “is that of Elvis, Roy Orbison and Chuck Berry.”
The trial, which will be decided by three judges and a six-person jury, is set to last until the end of May. Ms. Kardashian is expected to testify in person, Michael Rhodes, her lawyer, said in a statement.
Over 400 journalists have signed up to follow the trial, more than 10 times the amount that are allowed into the courtroom in central Paris on any given day.
“There is great concern that this trial could turn into a show trial,” said Chloé Arnoux, a lawyer for Mr. Khedache, who was mobbed by cameras as he hobbled through the courthouse with a cane. “The exceptional nature of the case stems more from the notoriety of the plaintiff than from the facts themselves,” she added.
Mr. Khedache, who was on the run from a 2010 conviction when the police arrested him, now suffers from a hearing impairment and has trouble speaking as a result, Ms. Arnoux said. Stenotypists are transcribing the proceedings for him.
In 2017, Mr. Khedache saw Ms. Kardashian talking about the robbery on television and realized the “psychological damage he had caused,” according to a letter he later wrote to her expressing regret for his actions. The letter never reached the star, but it was added to the judge’s file, according to Ms. Arnoux.
In a 2020 interview with David Letterman, Ms. Kardashian broke down in tears as she recounted the attack.
When she saw one of the robbers pointing a gun at her, she said, her first thought went to her sister Kourtney, who had attended a Givenchy fashion show with her just hours before and was at a Paris club when the thieves broke in.
“I kept on thinking, She’s going to come home and I’m going to be dead in the room,” said Ms. Kardashian, whose bodyguard was with her sister at the time. She added, “I thought that was my fate.”
Abderrahmane Ouatiki, the night watchman, was diagnosed with PTSD after the robbery and did not see the thieves as mere “grandpas,” according to Mohand Ouidja, his lawyer.
“He saw them as determined men,” Mr. Ouidja said, “who pointed a gun at him and forced him to his knees.”
