Prosecution asks for 10 months in prison for Benzema

The French prosecutor’s office asked this Thursday for ten months in prison with the possibility of suspension of the sentence and a fine of 75,000 euros (BRL 508 million) against Real Madrid athlete Karim Benzema. The measure is for complicity in the attempt to blackmail Mathieu Valbuena.

The 33-year-old striker will be tried for three days. Against the other four defendants, prosecuted for attempted blackmail with sexual video, the Prosecutor’s Office asked for 18 months to four years in prison.

“Benzema is not a good Samaritan who seeks to help. He acted to allow negotiators to achieve their goal, and blackmailers to get the money,” defended prosecutor Ségolène Marés, who highlighted her “authority and notoriety.”

In his allegations, Valbuena’s lawyer, Paul-Albert Iweins, denounced the attacker’s “mafia speech” during his intervention in this case, even comparing him to a “mafia boss”. According to him, his client was “excluded” from the French national team, despite being the victim.

“He was deprived of this trophy for sordid maneuvers and the betrayal of a teammate,” added Iweins, referring to Benzema.

The Real Madrid player, candidate for the Ballon d’Or, did not appear at the trial for “professional” reasons. Speaking to the press this Wednesday night, his lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, evoked Valbuena’s “resentment” and “jealousy” of Benzema. The latter managed to return to the French national team on the eve of the Euro Cup played in 2021.

During the process, the defense asked, in vain, for a confrontation between the players, considering that the interpretation of what happened is divergent. Benzema claims he gave “friend advice” to Valbuena, who felt pressured.

Fire friend

On October 6, 2015, Benzema went to Valbuena’s room at the French national team concentration, at the Clairefontaine training center, 40 kilometers from Paris.

Benzema told his teammate that he could bring in “someone he trusts” to help “manage” the possible release of a compromising video, according to case documents consulted by the AFP.

“Careful Math. They’re big, big bad guys,” said the Real Madrid player, in what he later declared was a way to help his colleague. Valbuena said he had the impression that he was being blackmailed.

Benzema never spoke about money, but the person he recommended was his childhood friend Karim Zenati, whom the alleged blackmailers had contacted to put pressure on the midfielder.

The two men at the beginning of the plot are Axel Angot and Mustapha Zouaoui, who had access to the intimate video and were trying to take advantage of it.

To put pressure on Valbuena, they first sought out former French player Djibril Cissé, who refused to put the two in contact with the midfielder and alerted his colleague to the existence of the video.

“At first, I didn’t believe it, I thought it was a mistake,” said this Wednesday Valbuena, who considered himself in “danger” and said “he was afraid for his sporting career if the video was released.”

With Cissé’s refusal, the blackmailers sought out Younes Houass, who contacted the whistleblower, before talking to “Luka”, an incognito police officer.

The talks came to nothing and, for the defense, the fact that “Luka” went to Houass on several occasions represents an incitement to criminal offense, an argument rejected by the French Court of Cassation.

In court, Houass assured that he had not asked Valbuena for money, who, in his opinion, “did not seem to understand” the gravity of the situation and whom he advised to look for “a trusted man” to administer the case.

The consequences of the scandal went beyond justice. The two main protagonists were no longer called up for the French team, until the unexpected return of Benzema on the eve of the Euro Cup played in 2021.