PARIS (Reuters) – A group of men dubbed the “grandpa gang” were among 10 suspects who went on trial on Monday on charges of robbing reality TV star Kim Kardashian at gunpoint and stealing jewelry worth millions of dollars during Paris Fashion Week in 2016.

The accused spoke one after the other in the central Paris courtroom to confirm their identity and occupation – many of them, now in their late sixties or seventies, saying they were retired.

One of the defendants, Yunice Abbas, 71, has told French media that he and others who took part in the robbery did not know who Kardashian was.

“It’s not her, it’s her diamond we targeted,” Abbas told C8 TV a few years ago. Abbas has admitted his participation in the robbery – writing a book about his role. In interviews with French media, he said he was sorry for what he did and wanted to apologise to Kardashian.

The suspects, wearing ski masks and clothes with police markings, tied up the billionaire celebrity with zip ties and duct tape, before making off with a $4 million engagement ring given to her by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye), and other jewels, according to investigators.

Kardashian will travel to Paris next month to give evidence in the trial, her lawyer said. She is expected to speak on May 13. The verdicts could be announced on May 23.

Frank Berton, a lawyer representing 68-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache – nicknamed “Omar the Old” and accused of being the group’s ringleader – which he denies – said he hoped the fact that Kardashian is a global star won’t affect the trial.

“This trial attracts international attention because of who the plaintiff, the victim, is,” Berton said.

“What we hope is that it won’t change anything in the way the facts are judged,” he said.

‘The Ring’

Kardashian told David Letterman about the heist in a 2020 interview, during which she fought back tears as she recalled her fears of being raped that night.

“They kept on saying ‘the ring, the ring’,” Kardashian said.

“I kept looking at the concierge,” she continued, referring to the concierge of the exclusive building who had been forced at gunpoint to lead the gang to her apartment. “I was like, ‘Are we gonna die? Just tell them I have children, I have babies … I have to get home’.”

DNA traces found on plastic bands used to tie the wrists of Kardashian helped police make arrests the following January.

In total, nine men and one woman are being tried by the criminal court. Five of them – all men – face armed robbery and kidnapping charges and potentially risk being sentenced to life imprisonment. The others are charged with complicity in the heist or the unauthorised possession of a weapon.

As the robbers escaped on foot or with bikes, they lost some of the jewelry, including a cross with six diamonds, which a passerby found in the street and brought to the police. But most of the jewels, including the $4 million ring, were never found.

One of the suspects is dead and another is too ill to be put on trial at this time, prosecutors said.

—

(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Lucien Libert; additional reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro, Makini Brice; Writing by Richard Lough and Ingrid Melander; Editing by Helen Popper and Ros Russell)