Kim Kardashian tells Paris court she feared for her life during 2016 robbery | World News

Nearly nine years after Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in a Paris hotel, Kim appeared in a Paris court on Tuesday to testify against the group accused of the violent attack.The robbery, which took place in the early hours of 3 October 2016, became one of the most widely reported celebrity crimes in recent hory. Thieves disguised as police officers broke into her private apartment, tied her up, and stole over $6 million worth of jewellery  including a diamond ring worth $4 million from her ex-husband Kanye West.
Now, at the ongoing trial in a Paris courtroom, Kardashian faced ten men accused in connection with the robbery. Dressed in black and appearing emotional, she described the moment she thought she would not survive. “I absolutely did think I was going to die,” Kardashian told the court, as reported the Associated Press (AP). She said one of the masked men pulled her towards him while she was in her bathrobe, her hands zip-tied and her mouth taped.
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“I was certain that was the moment that he was going to rape me,” she said. She added that she said a silent prayer for her ser, her friend, and her family.
Kim Kardashian, left, arrives to testify regarding a robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016, in Paris, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP)
Kardashian recalled hearing footsteps coming up the stairs before the attackers entered. She initially thought it was her ser Kourtney returning from a night out. When masked men burst through the door, she realised it was a robbery. “Hello? Hello? Who is it?” she said she called out, before they forced their way in.
“They tied my hands, dragged me to the bathroom, and pointed a gun at my head,” she said. One of the robbers signalled towards her ring. “He said, ‘Ring! Ring!’ and pointed to his hand,” she said.

At one point, Kardashian said she pleaded with the robbers, saying: “I have babies.” One of them responded that she would be fine if she stayed quiet.Story continues below this ad
The group fled with jewellery, leaving Kardashian bound and locked in the bathroom. She managed to hop to a balcony to call her mother and hide in near bushes.
The robbery led Kardashian to change her lifestyle. Her former styl and close friend Simone Harouche, who was also in the hotel that night, testified that Kardashian was terrified and screaming. “She just was beside herself,” Harouche said.
Kim Kardashian waves as she arrives to testify regarding a robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016, in Paris, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP)
Harouche said the experience has had lasting effects. “She now has a completely different lifestyle,” she said. “She doesn’t go anywhere alone anymore.”
French prosecutors say the men, most of whom are in their 60s and 70s, were part of a group that closely followed Kardashian’s social media to track her movements. Two of the accused have admitted being at the scene. Twelve people were initially charged; one has since died and another was excused for health reasons.Story continues below this ad
The judge asked whether Kardashian’s decision to post photos of expensive jewellery had made her a target. Harouche responded: “Just because a woman wears jewellery, that doesn’t make her a target. That’s like saying that because a woman wears a short skirt, she deserves to be raped.”
After the robbery, Kardashian withdrew from public life for months and later spoke about struggling with anxiety and fear. “I didn’t want anybody to know where I was,” she said in her testimony.
Her lawyers said she is grateful to the French authorities and is determined to confront those accused of attacking her.