Kim Kardashian leaves the courthouse after testifying in the trial of 10 people accused of stealing millions of dollars worth of jewellery from her, who was held at gunpoint in her apartment during Paris fashion week in 2016. Photo: Reuters
Kim Kardashian on Tuesday described how she thought she "would die" during a 2016 armed robbery in Paris as she testified in court.
"I thought I would die," she said at the trial in the French capital's Palace of Justice.
Kardashian was attacked by robbers disguised as police officers in October 2016 in an exclusive hotel in Paris' chic 8th district.
The reality TV star and entrepreneur was threatened with a gun, gagged and bound with adhesive tape before her assailants made off with an estimated €9mil in jewellery.
The 44-year-old described how the intruders sought to take her engagement ring with an 18.88-carat diamond, finding it by her bedside table. "I thought it was some type of terrorist attack, I did not realise it was for my ring."
She called out to the hotel concierge, who had been forced to take the robbers to her room at gunpoint, to ask them: "Are we going to die? I have two babies, I must make it home."
Kardashian said that she thought she would be raped when one of the men tied her up.
After being threatened with a gun, she described being certain she was going to be shot.
Kardashian was physically unharmed and was able to untie herself and raise the alarm.
The robbers are said to have received details of Kardashian's stay in Paris from the co-defendant brother of a chauffeur who worked for the US star during her visits to the city.
Also testifying earlier Tuesday in the same court, a stylist present during the robbery described Kardashian's "terror" during the assault, saying that she was scared for Kardashian's life during the incident.
Simone Harouche was in the hotel at the time of the assault and said she heard Kardashian scream: "I have babies and I have to live. Take everything, I need to live."
Harouche said she believes the incident changed Kardashian's life "forever," leading to a "loss of freedom."
"She doesn't go alone to place anymore" she added.
The stylist also rejected a question from the judge, asking whether Kardashian's social media posts showing her expensive jewellery were a risk: "Just because a woman wears jewellery doesn't make her a target. That's like saying because a woman wears a short skirt, she deserves to be raped."
Elegantly dressed all in black, with her hair up, Kardashian turned up in a car with tinted windows at the court, where there had already been a huge media frenzy for hours.
Nine men and one woman have been on trial in Paris for the attack since the end of April. The trial is due to run until May 23.
The defendants, whose average age is around 60, have been described by the French press as the "grandpa gang."
Two have confessed, with one publishing a book titled "I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian." The stolen jewellery was never found and is believed to have been sold in Antwerp.
The trial turned emotional when a judge read an apology letter from one defendant, written from pre-trial detention in 2017 when he saw her talking on television about the aftermath of the robbery.
Kardashian, moved to tears, said she believes in second chances and appreciated the letter and forgave him, though it doesn't undo the suffering. The defendant, now deaf-mute, responded in writing, "This forgiveness is a sun for me that will enlighten me."
Kardashian, 44, rose to fame through the long-running TV show Keeping Up With The Kardashians and has since built a global brand spanning fashion, beauty and social media. – dpa
