Kardashian, who was wearing nothing but a robe, was terrified that she would be assaulted. “This is the time I’m going to get raped,” she said. “I’m like: ‘What is happening? Are we gonna die? Just tell them I have children. I have babies, I have a husband, I have a family.’”

Instead, they tied her up with zip ties and left her in the bathroom, before fleeing the scene on bikes and on foot. “They wrapped duct tape over my eyes and my mouth,” she said. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through in my entire life, just thinking that, you know, you’re about to die. You’re just kind of bracing yourself for the moment that they’re going to shoot you and kill you. That 10 minutes really changed my whole life.”

Kardashian gave a statement to police later that morning before flying back to the US the following day.

Who are the suspects accused of robbing Kim Kardashian?

After the crime, a manhunt began. Police found DNA traces on the plastic zipties used to tie Kardashian’s wrists, which led to the arrest of 17 people in January 2017. Twelve men were later charged. The trial, which began yesterday, has been delayed since 2021. Ten of those 12 will be tried in the trial this month — one suspect died before the case reached trial, while another is suffering from dementia.

Aomar Ait Khedache, a 68-year-old known as “Old Omar”, is one of the accused. He is believed to have orchestrated the robbery. Although he has admitted participating, he denies being as the group’s ringleader.

Yunice Abbas, a 71-year-old, has also admitted to have taken part. He wrote a memoir about the robbery but was told by courts he wouldn’t be allowed to profit from it. He told TF1 TV that the culprits were “all grandads” prior to the trial.

“I had a proposal for a big job, which would be my last … They told me there was a 20-carat diamond that wasn’t protected … That was tempting,” he also said, explaining that he had struggled financially after already serving 20 years in prison for other robberies. “I was told it was the wife of a rapper. I didn’t ask questions.”

What has happened in Kim Kardashian’s Paris trial so far?

The trial began on 28 April. Abbas has testified that he didn’t know who Kardashian was when he agreed to take part in the robbery. He also claimed that he escaped the scene by bike, before falling and dropping a bag of jewels. Apparently, a local woman found the jewels and wore a necklace at work all day before realising what it was.

Abbas testified that he has come to regret the crime over time. “Before I didn’t. But this time I do regret what I did… It opened my eyes,” he said, adding, “TVs were talking about it all day and it led me to ask myself some questions.”

Ouatiki, the night receptionist, has allegedly suffered from PTSD since the ordeal.