Karim Benzema was sentenced to 10 months in jail exempt from compliance and a fine of $ 87,000 for complicity in blackmail to Mathieu Valbuena

The Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Versailles requested this Thursday a sentence of 10 months in jail exempt from compliance (it is free of something harmful) and a fine of 75,000 euros ($ 87,000) for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema for complicity in the blackmail of his former teammate Mathieu Valbuena with a video of a sexual nature.

Benzema was the only one of the five defendants who did not appear at the oral hearing, based on his sports obligations.

The Madrid player was charged in this case for a conversation he had with Valbuena during a national team rally in October 2015 in which he alerted him to the consequences of not responding to the threats of the blackmailers, which made the former Olympique player suspicious from Marseille who was involved in the plot.

In the event that the court’s judgment coincides with the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, Benzema would only have to enter prison in case of recidivism.

The Madrid player was the one with the best standing out of the requisition among the five defendants, since he is also the only one who is not charged with the blackmail charge. The Prosecutor’s Office only accuses him of complicity, since it takes for granted that his objective was not to profit.

For the rest, the Public Ministry requested sentences of between 4 years in prison and 18 months, as well as much lower fines than the one requested against Benzema.

The prosecutor, Julien Eyraud, assured that his request for penalties is ranked according to the involvement in the blackmail plot of each of them, but also by their social dimension and their personality.

In the case of the Madrid attacker, he acknowledged that “he is not just anyone” and that “without his presence, this case would not have gained so much dimension.”

“He is the bearer of an image, of a hope for many, of a celebrity. Of all those values. Like every public person, like every star. His public performances, his charitable acts are in contrast to helping his friend in an attempt to blackmail, “he said.

Ségolène Mares, another representative of the Public Ministry, explained that Benzema had a role within the team that was formed to blackmail Valbuena, that of a person with hierarchy within the selection that sought to pressure the victim.

“He is not the Good Samaritan who comes to help his partner, he is an accomplice who seeks to help the blackmailers,” he said.

The highest sentence requested was for Mustapha Zouaoui, considered “the engine of the plot”, the ideologist of a strategy in which he embarked the rest of the accused, including Benzema indirectly through his friend Karim Zenati.

For him, who has a record, he asked for seven years in jail and a $ 17,000 fine. For Axel Angot, the man who took over the sex tape with which they tried to blackmail Valbuena and the only one who acknowledged the penalty, asked for 18 months in jail and a $ 17,000 fine.

The prosecutor requested 18 months in prison and a 5,000 euro fine for Younes Houass, the intermediary used to contact Valbuena, and 2 years in prison and $ 5,000 for Zenati. (D)