Popular celebrity Kimberly Noel Kardashian who is popularly called Kim Kardashian will testify in a Paris court on Tuesday, a decade after she was robbed at gunpoint of millions in jewellery by masked men during Paris Fashion Week.
The trial, which began in late April, involves ten suspects accused of the 2016 armed robbery in which Kardashian lost jewellery worth approximately $10 million.
The incident was the most valuable robbery targeting a private individual in France in two decades.
Media interest in the trial has been intense, with nearly 500 reporters accredited to cover the proceedings at the historic Ile de la Cité courthouse.
The area is expected to be crowded with fans eager to catch a glimpse of the reality TV star.
Kardashian, now 44, is determined to face her alleged attackers, her lawyers stated last week.
“She is committed to attending in person,” said French attorneys Leonor Hennerick and Jonathan Mattout, noting that she would do so “with dignity and courage.”
The reality star will take the stand at 2p.m. (1200 GMT) and is expected to address the media afterwards.
Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint on the night of October 2-3, 2016, while staying at a luxury hotel in central Paris.
The robbers tied her up, taped her mouth, and threatened her with a gun, escaping with several high-value items, including a diamond ring worth 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million) given to her by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West.
Most of the accused robbers, now in their seventies, leading French media to dub them the “grandpa robbers.”
One has since died, and another, aged 81, has been excused from the trial due to advanced dementia.
With underworld nicknames like “Old Omar” and “Blue Eyes,” the group has been compared to characters from classic French crime films.
Despite their experience, the robbers made critical errors, including leaving DNA evidence that helped investigators track them down.
Her lawyers said Kardashian “is genuinely grateful” for how French authorities handled the investigation, treating her “with the utmost respect and consideration.”
The trial is scheduled to conclude on May 23.
