I thought I was going to die – I felt the gun on my back, weeping Kim Kardashian tells Paris raid trial
KIM Kardashian wept as she told a French courtroom that she thought she was about to die during a terrifying diamond heist before offering forgiveness to her robbers.
She was expected to speak outside the court after spending nearly five hours on the witness stand - but left without giving a statement or speaking to reporters.
The celebrity, 44, had $10 million worth of jewellery stolen by a gang of masked robbers while she was tied up and had a gun held to her back during Paris fashion week in 2016.
Nine years after the raid, Kim made an emotional appearance at the trial of 10 people who are accused of being involved in the traumatic burglary.
Supported in court by her mum, Kris Jenner, 69, she broke down as she described the moment she thought the men who had broken into her hotel room were about to rape and shoot her.
Speaking of her terror as she was thrown onto her hotel bed at gunpoint, naked under her hotel robe, she said: “The robe opens up and everything is exposed on my bottom half.
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“I was certain that was the moment he was going to rape me. He pulled me towards him and I said a prayer and tried to mentally prepare myself.”
She added: “I absolutely did think I was going to die.
“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’s friend and stylist Simone Harouche, 45, was in a downstairs bedroom during the ordeal and told the court she could hear Kim screaming in “terror”.
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She 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 10 years for the 10 defendants to be brought to court, with Covid lockdowns and a backlog of terrorism cases in the French justice system blamed.
In an emotionally charged moment in the courtroom, Judge David Du Pas read out a letter from suspected ringleader Aomar Ait Khedache.
The letter read: “Madame, 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, you children and those who love you."
Kardashian broke down in tears while the letter was read out, and was handed a tissue by a member of her legal team, before telling career criminal Khedache that she forgives 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 handwritten 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.
Abbas has previously written a book about his involvement in the heist.
When asked if he wanted to say anything to Kardashian, Abbas stood up and said: "Hello. I recognise your trauma. I regret my part."
Kim also told the court how the terror raid left her fearful that she could not trust the cops, given her attackers had dressed up in police uniforms.
French media has dubbed the gang of criminals “Grandpa robbers” because many are in their 60s and 70s with ailing health.
One of the original suspects has died before the trial and another is too frail to stand as a defendant.
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The case continues until the end of May.
Kim was pictured arriving at the Palais de Justice in central Paris earlier this afternoon, supported by her mum Kris Jenner.
Grandpa shock
Kim says she was “surprised” when she discovered that her alleged robbers were older.
The gang have been nicknamed the “Grandpa robbers” by the French press because some are in their 60s and 70s.
Kim tells the court: “I was a bit surprised that they were older. They didn’t seem older they seemed younger.
“I think just how he carried me it wasn’t as if they were older, I was just surprised when I saw the pictures of them.”
Kanye scared off previous heist attempt
Kim reveals that a French magistrate told her the robbers had been planning a raid during a previous trip to Paris, but were scared to because her ex-husband, Kanye West, was there.
She says they decided to reschedule for a time when she was alone, adding: "That shocked me that they had been planning this attack for some time."
Kim: They knew I was alone
Kim has touched on one of the most contentious points in the trial: how the robbers knew she was alone that night.
How they managed this is a mystery, but Kim concludes: "They have to have been told I didn't go out to the club."
She says she thinks someone could've simply staked out the hotel and seen what cars were coming and going, then alerted men.
Feared the robbers would return
The court is looking at Kim's statement, where she says she feared the robbers would come back.
She says: "I'm not sure, it was just an instinct", and that she didn't know if they would come back, "maybe to kill us so there were no witnesses."
Kim concludes: "I didn't want to take any chances, so I wanted to hide."
Robbers wanted more
Kim reveals that one of the robbers wanted more after they took all her jewellery - including the $4million engagement ring.
When asked if she felt one robber was in charge, she says she thinks the man who did not tied her up was "she thought the man who didn't tie her up was "the boss".
She says: "After they found the ring I would have expected them to leave, but he kept saying ‘more, more’.
"The other one was not satisfied with just the ring. When they found my jewellery box. But he wanted more. Everything else was packed."
Kim says they eventually scarpered with $1,000 dollars they found in her wallet.
Concierge was 'stony-faced'
Kim says that the concierge, Abderrahmane Ouatiki, who was also tied up, "was just stone faced, quiet. I was the hysterical one."
She continues: “He didn’t have answers, I was looking at him asking ‘are we going to die’ and he was just looking at me like ‘I don’t know’.
“I felt like I was so confused about what was going on. His lack of hysteria made me question everything that was going on.”
Abderrahmane Ouatiki, who was the concierge at the hotelCredit: EPA Dropped onto hard floor, but not hit
Asked by the judge if she was punched or hit during the ordeal, Kim says: “No I was not hit. No I was grabbed and dragged into the other room and dropped onto the hard floor, but not a hard hit.”
She says that when they dumped her in the bathroom, she thinks that’s when they had got a signal someone might be coming and they had to make a quick escape.
She said: “That’s when I realised that it was a bit more controlled and organised and that some one had told them that someone was coming and they had to go.”
Raider looked Kim in the eyes
Kim relived the moment one of the masked raiders looked her in the eye and told her to be quiet.
She says she thought that the intruder might also be a parent, as he appeared to indicate that if she stayed quiet she would be alright.
Kim says: "I felt like the guy that tied me up saw how frantic I was and when he came close to me, almost whispered ‘shh, you ok’.
“I felt like he was also a father, I felt like he felt like he wanted me to know that I would be ok if I just shut up.”
Defendant who has admitted guilt
Aomar Ait Khedache is one of the two 'Grandpa Robbers' who has admitted guiltCredit: AFP
One of the defendants
Yunice Abbas is one of the men accused of robbing KimCredit: Splash Kim: I developed a fear of going out
Kim says she started to get a "phobia of going out", because she thought people would "see me out and know my home was empty".
"So I can't even sleep at night if I know there's not multiple security," she says.
The judge then read out parts of Kim's statement.
Experience completely changed the way I feel
Explaining her security arrangements after the raid, she said “I think this experience really changed everything for us. I never thought that we were ever not safe before this.
“I always felt safe even just knowing that Pascal was in town, even if he was in a different hotel. Security was a newer concept for us, I wouldn’t have personal security at my house.”
She added: “It wasn’t something that I always felt I needed until this trip.”
“It changed in the way I feel safe. At home I now have between four and six night security at home, just to feel safe. I think there’s people who hear about these stories and want to recreate it.
“When I was in Paris, my house in Los Angeles got robbed because they heard what had happened in Paris.”
Security arrives - Kim fearful of police
Kim says her security and sister then arrived and ran in, and then the cops turned up.
When the police arrived afterwards, Kim said she was still in a state of shock and was fearful that she could not trust the cops, given her attackers had dressed up in police uniforms.
They gave statements to the authorities and then left for New York.
The judge asks her whether she can tell the court what she felt when she was interviewed by police.
Kim replies: "In a state of shock honestly - wondering who I can trust, what if one of them is dressed like police but is really in on it?"
Hid in the bushes and called out for her mom
Kim and stylist Simone and ran out on the balcony and hid in the bushes.
She says: "I remember calling my mum from the bushes to let her know what happened and then I think while we were waiting for my security to come.
"Simone and I were trying to come up with a plan - if they come back should we just jump out the window?"
Fled downstairs to find her stylist when they left
Kim says the intruders picked he up and put her on the bathroom floor - before they frantically dashed out.
She says: "Then I waited a few minutes - I wasn't sure if they were gonna get something and come back - but after a few mins I didn't hear anything" so she began to free herself."
She says that she rubbed the zip ties on the tap in order to break them off - before hopping downstairs with her ankles still tied.
Kin says: "I was able to get the [...] tape off and then I popped down to find Simone [her stylist]"
Prayed for her family, believing she would die
Kim reveals that, fearing for her life, she said a prayer for her family.
She tells the court: "At that point I was sure that's when they were going to shoot me.
"So I said a prayer for my family and my mom and my sister and best friend."
Kim says she thought about the moment her family would walk in to find her dead body, and "hoped they would have an OK life after".
She says she thought she "would be shot dead on the bed and she [Kourtney] would see that and have that memory forever."
When pressed by the judge, Kim confirms: "I absolutely did think I was gonna die."
Kim: I was naked and thought I was going to be raped
Kim explains that she was naked beneath her robe, which opened "and exposes everything on my body".
She adds: "I'm certain that's the moment he rapes me. I say a prayer to mentally prepare myself."
Instead her legs were tied together and a gun was held up to her.
Harrowing crime scene pics from robbery case
Kim's hotel room 
Alleged gag and ties used 
Hotel where alleged robbery took placeCredit: AFP Bound up and thrown onto bed - 'I have babies'
Kim continues bravely telling the court about her terrifying late-night ordeal.
She says her hands were bound with zip ties and she was thrown onto the bed.
Kim says she told the concierge to "please translate to them that I have babies, I have to make it home."
One of the robbers leaned in and told her she would be OK, she says, wiping away tears.
She says one of the men pulled her towards him.
One of the alleged robbers died just weeks before trial
A key suspect in Kim Kardashian's $10million robbery case suddenly died in April after reportedly getting threats from a criminal gang suspected of buying her jewellery.
Marceau Baum-Gertner, 72, was the alleged "super fence" working with the gang that held up Kardashian at gunpoint in the French capital in 2016.
He was due to go on trial this week alongside the 10 others accused of a variety of charges linked to the "robbery and kidnap" of Ms Kardashian by "an organised gang".
However, he was found dead in Paris’s 10th arrondissement on March 6th.
Credit: France2 Held at gun point and marched around
Kim tells the court she was yanked from the bed and held at gunpoint.
She says: "They took me down the hallway to look for more jewellery, more stuff.
"That was the first moment I thought should I run for it? But it wasn't an option so I just stayed - and that's the moment I realised I should just do whatever they say."
Watch: Kim Kardashian heist explained
Kim Kardashian robbers' Paris trialKim feared terror attack - robbers demand her ring
Kim tells the court: "I was still in such shock, because honestly a lot of terrorist attacks were going on in the world and me and my friends were talking about what was going on in the world and...
"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."
She goes on: "The gentleman found the ring that was next to my bed."
"He found it himself, it was sitting right there," she says.
Receptionist was handcuffed but calm
Kim said she kept asking the receptionist "what's happening? What's happening?"
He was very calm and said he didn't know, she said.
She continued: "And I think that confused me a bit more - not understanding if he was a part of this or he wasn't."
The receptionist, Ouatiki, is sitting in the courtroom behind Kris Jenner.
Kim says: "I understand now how shocked he was and he was just a victim like myself and we were in this together."
All there is to know about the case
Ten people are currently on trial in Paris accused of robbing reality TV star Kim Kardashian.
Kim was allegedly held at gunpoint at a hotel in October 2016 by the team of robbers who were dressed as policemen.
They stole $10m in jewellery - including a $4m engagement ring - and cash from the businesswoman.
The mum has since revealed the trauma the terrifying ordeal caused her.
Two of the defendants, Yunice Abbas and Aomar Ait Khedache, have admitted to the charges.
The rest of the gang continue to deny playing any role in the robbery.
They are commonly known at the "grandpa robbers", due to the age of most of the defendants.