Kim Kardashian's robbers found guilty in Paris but won't face prison time

PARIS (AP) — A Paris court on Friday found the ringleader and seven other people guilty in the 2016 armed robbery of Kim Kardashian, but did not impose any additional time behind bars for their roles in what the U.S. celebrity described as “the most terrifying experience of my life."

The chief judge, David De Pas, said that the defendants' ages — six are in their 60s and 70s — and their health issues weighed on the court’s decision to impose sentences that he said “aren’t very severe.”

He said that the nine years between the robbery and the trial — long even by the standards of France’s famously deliberate legal system — were also taken into account in not imposing harsher sentences. The court acquitted two of the 10 defendants.

Aomar Aït Khedache, 69, the ringleader, got the stiffest sentence, eight years imprisonment but five of those were suspended. Three others got seven years, five of them suspended. Three more got prison sentences ranging from five to three years, mostly or completely suspended, and an eighth person was found guilty on a weapons charge and fined.

With time already served in pretrial detention, none of those found guilty will go to prison and all walked out free. The trial was heard by a three-judge panel and six jurors.

Still, the chief judge said that Kardashian had been traumatized by the Oct. 2, 2016, jewel heist in her hotel during Fashion Week.

“You caused harm,” the judge said. “You caused fear.”

Kardashian, who wasn't present for the verdict, said in a statement issued afterward that she was “deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice in this case.”

“The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family. While I’ll never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability and pray for healing for all. I remain committed to advocating for justice, and promoting a fair legal system," said the celebrity who is working to become a lawyer.

A separate statement from her legal team said that “Kim appreciates the court’s decision."

“It has been a long journey from that terrible night,” it said. “She looks forward to putting this tragic episode behind her.”

Khedache's walking stick clicked on the courthouse's marble floors as he walked out free. His DNA, found on the bands used to bind Kardashian, was a breakthrough that helped crack open the case.

Wiretaps captured him giving orders, recruiting accomplices and arranging to sell the diamonds in Belgium. A diamond-encrusted cross, dropped during the escape, was the only piece of jewelry ever recovered. The men made off with more than $6 million in jewelry, including a diamond ring she’d worn that night to a Givenchy show. They also took a watch her late father had given her when she graduated high school.

Two of the robbers, dressed as police, forced their way into her suite in the glamorous Hôtel de Pourtalès and bound Kardashian with zip ties and tape.

The theft subsequently forced celebrities to rethink how they live and protect themselves.

Because of their ages, the accused became known in France as “les papys braqueurs,” or the grandpa robbers. They faced charges including armed robbery, kidnapping and gang association.

Kardashian’s testimony earlier this month was the trial's emotional high point. In a packed courtroom, she recounted how she was thrown onto a bed and had a gun pressed to her.

“I absolutely did think I was going to die,” she said. She said she pleaded: "I have babies. I have to make it home. They can take everything. I just have to make it home.”

She was dragged into a marble bathroom and told to stay silent. When the robbers fled, she freed herself by scraping the tape on her wrists off against the sink, then hid with her friend, shaking and barefoot.

She said that Paris had once been her sanctuary — a city she would wander at 3 a.m., window shopping, stopping for hot chocolate. That illusion was shattered.

Khedache's lawyer pleaded for clemency, pointing to one of the trial’s most visceral moments — when he and Kardashian came face to face during her testimony.

“She listened to the letter he had written to her, and then she forgave him,” lawyer Franck Berton told The Associated Press.

Kardashian, typically shielded by security and spectacle, had locked eyes with Khedache as the letter was read aloud.

“I do appreciate the letter, I forgive you,” she said. “But it doesn’t change the feelings and the trauma and the fact that my life was forever changed.”

Khedache on Friday asked for “a thousand pardons,” communicated via a written note in court. Other defendants also used their final words to express remorse.

The robbery echoed beyond the City of Light. It forced a recalibration of celebrity behavior in the age of Instagram. For years, Kardashian had curated her life like a showroom: geo-tagged, diamond-lit, public by design. But this was the moment the showroom turned into a crime scene. In her words, “People were watching … They knew where I was.”

Afterward, she stopped posting her location in real time. She stripped her social media feed of lavish gifts. Other stars followed suit.

Mallika Sen in New York and Catherine Gaschka contributed to this report.

Kim Kardashian' s lawyer Leonor Hennerick answers reporter after the verdict in the 2016 armed robbery of Kim Kardashian Friday, May 23, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Franck Berton, left, and Chloe Arnaux, lawyers for Aomar Aït Khedache, one of the men accused in the 2016 armed robbery of Kim Kardashian, answer reporters after the verdict in the trial of Kim Kadashian heist, Friday, May 23, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Yunice Abbas, one of the men accused in the 2016 armed robbery of Kim Kardashian, arrives for the verdict in the trial of Kim Kadashian heist, Friday, May 23, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Defendant Aomar Aït Khedache, one of the men accused in the 2016 armed robbery of Kim Kardashian, leaves after the verdict in the trial of Kim Kadashian heist, Friday, May 23, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Kim Kardashian leaves the justice palace after testifying, regarding a robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016, in Paris, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Kim Kardashian, center, accompanied by her mother Kris Jenner, right, leaves the justice palace after testifying, regarding a robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016, in Paris, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Kim Kardashian, left, accompanied by her mother Kris Jenner leaves the justice palace after testifying, regarding a robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016, in Paris, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Kim Kardashian, center, accompanied by her mother Kris Jenner, second right, leaves the justice palace after testifying, regarding a robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016, in Paris, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.

Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.

Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran cross checking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

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A witness told the AP that the streets of Tehran empty at the sunset call to prayers each night.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, addressed “Dear parents,” which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

—- By Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators to the streets Monday in a show of power after nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.

Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square in the capital.

It called the demonstration an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. That sparked the protests over two weeks ago.

State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests, as claimed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier in the day.

China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”

He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”

Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”

He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.

Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.

“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.

However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”

The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.

The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.

Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.

“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.

Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.

Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.

Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.

Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.

Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.

Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.

Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.

Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.

A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.

Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.

Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.

The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.

Shiite Muslims hold placards and chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and show solidarity with Iran in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Activists carrying a photograph of Reza Pahlavi take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Activists take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)