Paris – prosecutors and accused are prepared on Monday to begin selecting jurors while the French courts made the necessary preparations to listen to the testimonies of witnesses in the trial of the accused of stealing jewels worth $ 9 million at the tip of the gun to Kim Kardashian.
It was the opening day of the procedures against 10 people accused in connection with the theft of 2016, in which they allegedly kept Kardashian, 44, at the tip of the gun and stole their jewels while in Paris for the city’s fashion week.
Kardashian stayed in a private apartment complex preferred by VIP visitors, when five of the defendants arrived on bicycles already foot, entered the building and stole the television star turned into business magnate. The other defendants are accused of related crimes, including planning and giving clues about Kardashian’s whereabouts.
Who are the defendants?
The group has been nicknamed “grandparents thieves” in local media, because some of them are between 60 and 70 years old. The case has taken so long to get to trial that one defendant died and another, 80, has had its case separate from the other defendants due to their medical condition.
Those who are being judged include Aomar Ait Khedache, 69, known as “Old Omar”, accused of being the brain of the plan; His son and alleged escape driver, Harminy, 37; Didier “Blue Eyes” Dubreucq, 69; and Kardashian’s driver’s brother in Paris, Gary Madar, 35, who is accused of providing the alleged members of the band information about Kardashian’s whereabouts.
One of the defendants is a woman, Christiane Glotin, 78, who was supposedly complicit in robbery planning.
At least one defendant has admitted his participation in the robbery. Yunice Abbas, now 72, wrote the 2021 book “I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian”, in which she details her life story and provides a story of theft itself. In the text, he describes having been recruited months before for a team that would steal an unidentified American rapper, whose identity only knew after committing the crime against her.
Abbas’s lawyer, Gabriel Dumenil, told NBC on his way to the court that his client wants to “explain, express his truth and express his regrets about this case. This is very important to him.”
“He knows what is at stake in this trial,” Dumenil added.
What will the trial be like?
Under the judicial system of France, the defendants in criminal cases do not present formal statements. They can admit or deny their guilt, but the trial proceeds independently. Most cases in France are decided by judges, but since the maximum sentence of this trial is more than 20 years, it will be heard by a jury.
Television cameras are not allowed in the French courts, so the procedures will be documented by journalists and artists who will make sketches of what happens in the room.
Will Kim Kardashian testify?
The star of reality American is scheduled to appear before the Court on May 13. He has previously described his experience as a terrible test in which he was sure he was going to die.
He remembered to have tried 911 when men entered their room, “and I was how I don’t know how to call 911 in a different country,” he said in an episode of “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” of E! which was broadcast in 2017. “And then the guy came and took my phone, threw me in bed, and I was like, this is all.”
This story was translated from English with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool. A Telemundo Digital editor reviewed the translation.
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