KIM'S TERROR
‘I forgive you’ Kim Kardashian tells gem raiders she feared would rape & murder her as she appears at their Paris trial
The reality star's $4million diamond engagement ring was stolen in the heist
KIM Kardashian told a court yesterday how she feared she was about to be raped and murdered during a gang’s diamond heist — before saying she forgave the robbers.
The reality TV star, 44, addressed their suspected ringleader Aomar Ait Khedache after he wrote of his “regret” in a letter — but she told him that the trauma of the ordeal had changed her life forever.
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Mother-of-four Kim spoke out as a court heard how thugs took £7.5million of her jewellery after bursting into her Paris hotel room in 2016.
They specifically demanded the £3million engagement ring then-husband Kanye West gave her. She arrived at court wearing a replica of the never recovered 18.88-carat sparkler.
She entered the witness box after walking in front of the ten people accused of being involved in the crime. Two have admitted their guilt.
Kim was supported in court by her mum, Kris Jenner, 69, and spent more than four hours testifying.
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The three-times-married star wept as she described the moment when she feared she would be raped and shot.
It happened shortly after two of the gang burst into her room in police uniforms and she was thrown on her hotel bed, naked under her dressing-gown.
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Kim, who at first believed they were cops, said: “The robe opens up and everything is exposed on my bottom half. I was certain that was the moment he was going to rape me.”
The star, who was testifying at the Palais de Justice, France’s highest criminal court, added: “I said a prayer and tried to mentally prepare myself. I absolutely did think I was going to die.
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“I was on the bed and then one of them had the gun up to me and at that point that’s when they were going to shoot me.
“That’s when I was certain that they would shoot me.”
Kim Kardashian robbers' Paris trial
Her stylist pal Simone Harouche, 45, was in a downstairs bedroom during the robbery, which took place during a Paris Fashion Week.
She told the court that she could hear her friend screaming in “terror”.
Simone said: “I was afraid that she was raped or violated and I feared the worst. It was terror.
“What I heard specifically was, ‘I have babies and I need to live’.
“That was what she kept saying, ‘Take everything, I need to live’.”
It has taken almost a decade for the defendants to be brought to court as a consequence of Covid lockdowns and backlog of terrorism cases in the French justice system.
Kim, who has 357million followers on Instagram, had been determined to make an appearance to give evidence at the court in central Paris.
Fans and paparazzi waited outside as she arrived wearing a tailored black blazer and long black skirt.
She also had on a large diamond necklace.
Kim was accompanied by four security guards as she made her way into the well of the court.
Taking the stand inside the grand wood-panelled courtroom, the star said: “Hi, I’m Kim Kardashian.
“I just want to thank everyone, especially the French authorities for allowing me to be here today to testify, and allowing me to share my truth.”
She went on: “This is my closure, this is me putting this hopefully to rest, to be able to see everyone, to be able to thank the French judicial system for figuring out this investigation.”
She added: “I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.
“I do hope and pray that everyone involved gets the help they need and rehabilitates and doesn’t do this again.”
Kim continued: “I genuinely would hope they feel regret and it’s genuine. I genuinely appreciate their apology and their regrets.
“I think that’s the only way to move forward. It doesn’t change what happened, but it means I can have a little peace not carrying that around.”
In one emotionally-charged moment, Judge David De Pas read out a letter to Ms Kardashian from suspected ringleader Khedache.
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It read: “Madame, [it was] after seeing you in a French TV show and seeing your emotion and realising what psychological harm I did to you, that I decided to write to you.
“Not with the aim of getting forgiveness . . . I want to tell you human to human how I regret my actions and how I was touched to see you cry.
“I am sorry for the pain I caused you, your husband, your children and those who love you.”
Kim began crying while the letter was read out in court.
She was handed a tissue by one of her legal team, before telling career criminal Khedache she forgave him.
She told the court: “I do appreciate the letter for sure. I do appreciate it.
“I forgive you for what had taken place. But it doesn’t change the emotion and the trauma and the way that my life had forever changed.
“But I do appreciate the letter, so thank you.”
In a hand-written note in response, Khedache — who is deaf and mute — wrote: “Your forgiveness is a sunshine that has enlightened me. I am forever grateful.”
Another of the defendants, Yunice Abbas, also said he regretted his part in the terrifying raid.
He has written a book about his involvement in the heist.
Asked if he wanted to say anything to Kim, Abbas stood up and told her: “Hello. I recognise your trauma. I regret my part.”
Ms Kardashian, who is studying to become a lawyer in the US, said: “Back home in the States I work in the justice system and I want so badly to be a lawyer.
"I have always believed in second chances. I have been in prisons and I have met with people who have committed horrible crimes and I try to have empathy with them always.”
Media personality Kim also explained how she at first had no idea what the two robbers wanted when they burst into her room.
She said: “A lot of terrorist attacks were going on . . . and me and my friends were talking about what was going on in the world.
“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.”
When she was on the bed with a gun pointed at her, Kim said she “said a prayer for my family and my mom and my sister and best friend”.
She said she thought about them walking into the room and finding her dead on the bed.
“I hoped they would have an OK life after,” she added.
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Ms Kardashian explained her legs were taped together by the robbers, who carried her to the bathroom and left her on the floor.
Once the men had left, she managed to free herself and “hopped” downstairs to find her friend.
They waited until her security arrived. Harouche told the court: “To see my friend with her feet tied and with a very little robe with nothing under all messed up and pulled — I obviously thought she could have been raped or violated.
“She was beside herself. I had never seen her like this before. She just was screaming and saying, ‘We need to get out’.”
At one point before the police arrived, Ms Kardashian suggested the pair of them might have to jump out of the first floor window, in case the robbers returned.
What happened to Kim Kardashian?
by Harvey Geh
Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in Paris, 2016, marking the biggest robbery of an individual in France for more than 20 years.
At the time the reality icon was in the French capital for Paris Fashion Week with her former husband Kanye West - before the rapper returned to the US to pick up his Saint Pablo tour.
Now left in Paris along with her sister Kourtney and various other entourage members, Kardashian stayed in an exclusive set of apartments so secret they are dubbed the No Address Hotel.
The penthouse suite Kardashian was staying in at the chic Hotel de Pourtalès - which is popular with celebrity A-listers - costs an eye-watering £13,000 per night.
On the evening of October 3, after the star had attended a fashion show with her sister, Kardashian decided to stay in the apartment alone while the rest of her crew - including bodyguard Pascal Duvier - went out for the night.
At around 2:30am, three armed men donning ski masks and dressed as police burst into the apartment block and threatened the concierge at gunpoint.
Two of them are alleged to have forced the concierge to take them to the reality icon's suite - with the worker later telling police that they yelled: "Where's the rapper's wife?"
Kardashian said she was "dozing" on her bed at the time, after uploading social media posts telling viewers that she was home alone, which she believes gave the robbers a "window of opportunity".
The star said the robbers grabbed her, tied her up with plastic cables and taped her mouth and legs before dropping her in the bathtub.
Before locking her in the bathroom they had held her at gunpoint and demanded specifically for her ring and also money.
Cops said the robbers left the room after seizing the jewels and escaped on bikes - while carrying a haul estimated to be worth about $10million including a $4million 18.88-carat diamond engagement ring from West.
Kardashian said she then managed to free herself from the restraints and rushed to help.
She said she was still in a state of shock and was fearful that she could not trust the cops, given her attackers wore police uniforms.
Kim said the incident had changed her life entirely — and her family now never go anywhere without full security.
French media has dubbed the gang “grandpa robbers” because many are in their 60s and 70s and in failing health.
One of the original suspects died before the trial and another is too frail to stand as a defendant.
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The case is expected to continue until the end of this month.
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