Eight people have been found guilty of crimes connected to the gunpoint robbery of Kim Kardashian at a Paris hotel.

The theft targeting the TV personality, socialite and businesswoman in 2016 was carried out by a group the media dubbed the “grandpa robbers” as most were close to or of retirement age.

A six-member jury, led by three judges, reached a verdict on Friday following a four-week trial at Paris’s Palais de Justice.

The court found the ringleader and seven others guilty over the raid at the Hotel de Pourtales. Their sentences ranged from prison terms to a fine, but with time already served in pretrial detention, none of those convicted will go to jail.

The group were accused of pulling off one of the most audacious heists against a celebrity in modern French history, in the early hours of 3 October 2016 during Paris Fashion Week.

Wearing ski masks and disguised as police, the thieves stormed Kardashian‘s luxury hotel apartment, bound the star with zip ties, and stole jewellery worth an estimated $6m (£4.4m), including a ring given to her by then husband Kanye West.

‘You caused harm’

Chief judge David De Pas said the defendants’ ages – with the oldest being 79 and some others in their 60s and 70s – weighed on the court’s decision not to impose harsher sentences, and the nine years between the robbery and the trial was also taken into account.

He also told them the reality TV star had been traumatised by the raid, adding: “You caused harm. You caused fear.”

Some arrived in court in orthopaedic shoes and one leaned on a cane. But prosecutors warned observers not to be fooled.

Read more: Everything you need to know about the Paris trial

Ringleader Aomar Ait Khedache, 69, who arrived at court walking with a stick, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment, with five of those suspended.

His DNA, which was found on the bands used to bind Kardashian, was a key breakthrough that helped crack open the case. Wiretaps captured him giving orders, recruiting accomplices and arranging to sell the diamonds in Belgium.

Three others who were accused of the most serious charges got seven years imprisonment, five of them suspended.

‘Most terrifying experience of my life’

After the ruling, 44-year-old Kardashian, who was not present for the verdict, issued a statement, saying: “I am 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.”

The court in the French capital found a ninth person guilty of illegal weapons charges, while a tenth person was cleared.

Kardashian ‘thought she would be raped and killed’

Five of the defendants, who were all aged between 60 and 72 at the time of the incident, faced armed robbery and kidnapping charges.

The remaining five defendants were charged with complicity in the heist or the unauthorised possession of a weapon.

During the robbery, Kardashian, who previously told the court she thought she would be raped and killed, was bound with zip-ties and left in the bathtub.

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She described the robbery as “terrifying” and said while she felt forgiveness, that in no way altered “the emotion and the feelings and the trauma,” adding “my life is forever changed”.

Two members of the group – Khedache, known as “Old Omar”, and Yunice Abbas – who wrote a book called I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian, admitted some part in the robbery, while the remaining eight denied the charges.

Prosecutors had requested sentences of up to 10 years.

Kardashian earlier this week completed her six-year legal apprenticeship in California.

Most of the jewellery, which is understood to have been sold in Belgium, was never found.

A diamond-encrusted cross, dropped during the escape, was the only piece ever recovered.

Kneecap have released a new single ahead of their headline performance at London’s Wide Awake festival, just days after one of their members was charged with a terror offence.

The rap trio from Belfast shared a link to the song – The Recap – which opens with Sky News presenter Wilfred Frost reporting about the counter terrorism police investigation – on Instagram, linking to their WhatsApp channel.

Bandmembers Liam O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, also thanked the 25,000 fans who had bought tickets for Friday night’s festival.

They also reference Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, with whom they’ve had previous run-ins, writing: “Kemi Badenoch you might wanna sit down for this one, if you’ve any seats left.”

Last year, Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK government in Belfast High Court after former business secretary Ms Badenoch tried to refuse them a £14,250 funding award when she was a minister.

Ms Badenoch has called for Kneecap to be banned and suggested they should be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up. Some other politicians have made the same demand.

The track mocks Badenoch’s attempts to block their arts funding and the Conservative Party’s election loss. It features DJ Mozey.

It comes after O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged over the alleged display of a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November last year, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the band held a surprise gig at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, where O hAnnaidh could be seen in videos on social media arriving on stage with tape covering his mouth.

He then joked about being careful about what he said, adding that he wanted to thank his lawyer, saying: “I need to thank my lawyer, he’s here tonight as well.”

In video footage posted to YouTube, the band led the audience in a chant of “free Mo Chara” and joked about the police presence at the venue.

Police said they attended to manage visitors to the sold-out event.

The band said on X that the central London event sold out in 90 seconds, with 2,000 people on the waiting list.

O hAnnaidh, 27, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 June.

Formed in 2017, the group are known for their provocative lyrics in both Irish and English and proved a critical hit in the 2024 semi-fictionalised band origin story movie Kneecap, starring actor Michael Fassbender.

Their best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag.

Before the amps are even switched on in Brockwell Park, there’s been a lot of noise about who should or shouldn’t be performing.

It’s where Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap are set to play their first major show since band member Mo Chara was charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of the terrorist group Hezbollah at one of their gigs.

Before that, there had been calls for festivals to reconsider booking the band over their political stances, and several have done, which prompted artists like Brian Eno, the Mystery Jets and CMAT to sign an open letter accusing Westminster and the British media of a campaign to “remove Kneecap from the public eye”.

They put their names to wording that said “in a democracy, no political figures… have the right to dictate who does and does not play at music festivals.”

The band have since claimed they’re the victims of “political policing” designed to silence their views on Gaza.

So what’s the reality like for artists who are outspoken at a time when the world is so divided?

As some of the biggest names in music gathered in London for the Ivors, an annual celebration of songwriting, Self-Esteem – aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor – said the level of scrutiny can be “terrifying”.

‘The problem with the internet’

She told Sky News: “The problem with the internet is you say one thing, which gets scrutinised, and then you shit yourself, you really do… then you’re advised not to. And then you’re like ‘don’t advise me not to!’

“You second-guess anything you want to say any more… but any time I do that, I think ‘well that’s why you’ve got to say it then’.”

She said it can be frustrating that focus turns on to pop stars’ opinions instead of “the people doing the bad things”.

Read more:
Why are Kneecap controversial?

‘Being a pop artist isn’t just about the music’

Former Little Mix singer Jade said: “To be a pop artist these days, it’s not just about music, it’s: ‘What’s your political stance?’

“I’ve always been quite vocal about those things, but in doing so you have even more of a scary spotlight on you, constantly assessing what your thoughts are as a human…it is scary.”

Trinidad-born London artist Berwyn, whose songs depict his struggles with UK immigration, says: “Silencing freedom of speech… is a road we don’t want to walk down.

“I’m not a politician, this is a very complicated issue, but I do absolutely believe in a human’s right to express themselves freely.”

But is that freedom of speech dependent on what side you’re coming from?

‘Unethical investments’

Soon, an event called Mighty Hoopla will take place at Brockwell Park as part of its programme of six festivals this summer.

Artists performing at that are coming under increased pressure from pro-Palestine groups to quit because it’s owned by a company called Superstruct, which has links to an American investment firm called KKR.

Critics argue that any KKR-affiliated events should be a red flag to artists as campaigners claim it “invests billions of pounds in companies” that do things like “develop Israeli underground data centres”, and they say it has shares in companies that “advertise property on illegally occupied land in the West Bank”.

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Mighty Hoopla itself has said while it “cannot control investments made in our parent companies”, it wants to “state its clear opposition to KKR’s unethical investments”.

And Superstruct – which puts on over 80 festivals around the world – says while horrified by the crisis in Gaza: “We are aware that there is a significant amount of debate… around our festivals.

“Our owners, made up of our promoters and several investment firms, support us to achieve the highest standards… fans and artists rightly expect.”

They insist that operationally, Superstruct is independently run and all its “revenue and profits… remains entirely within our business… towards the ongoing development… of our festivals.”

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Even deciding where to perform can have political connotations for musicians these days.

As Tom Gray, a founding member of the rock band Gomez, now chair of the Ivors, explains: “The amount of commercial interest required to get a young artist into the public eye means they have to keep their head down a lot and that’s a terrible shame.

“It’s not just artistic expression, but personal human expression is one of the fundamental things that allows people to feel they have agency.”