Photo: Aurelien Morissard / AP
France has concluded a high-profile trial of a group of 12 people who carried out a brazen armed attack on American reality TV star Kim Kardashian in Paris in 2016. According to CNN, the court on Friday found eight attackers guilty, dubbed the “grandfathered robbers” by the media due to the advanced age of some of the defendants.
The leader of the gang, 68-year-old Aomar Ait Hedash, was sentenced to 8 years in prison, 5 of which were suspended. Another seven people were convicted of crimes including organised robbery, kidnapping, illegal possession of weapons and aiding and abetting. Some of them have served part of their sentences before being sentenced and will be released now.
Two of the defendants were acquitted, although one of them has to pay €5,000 in compensation to Kim Kardashian and the manager of the building where the attack took place.
“These sentences are quite lenient,” commented Judge David de Paz. He stressed that although the attackers had not shed blood, they had “sown fear and left a deep trauma”.
In her statement, Kardashian thanked French law enforcement for justice, calling the attack “the worst event of her life” that “left an emotional scar” on her and her family. She said she had forgiven the gang leader, who had expressed remorse in a written statement, but added: “It doesn’t change my feelings and the trauma I’ve experienced.”
Of the 12 suspects, one died before the trial, and another, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, was declared incapacitated to participate in the trial. One of the convicts, Yunis Abbas, returned home that evening after the verdict was announced.
The incident took place in October 2016 during Paris Fashion Week. Armed criminals broke into Kardashian’s apartment, tied her up and robbed her of more than $10 million.
