Prosecutors have recommended a 10-month suspended prison sentence and fine of €75k for Real Madrid striker and France international Karim Benzema on charges of complicity in blackmail
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The Versailles prosecutor’s office has requested a 10-month suspended prison sentence and €75k (£63k) fine for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema on charges of complicity in blackmail.
The charges relate to allegations over the 33-year-old’s complicity in the blackmail of his former France teammate Mathieu Valbuena in a case known as the “sextape affair”, with Benzema’s legal team labelling the charges as absurd.
Prosecutors in the case had originally been pushing for a potential prison sentence of five years for the Madrid player but this has now been downgraded to a 10-month suspended sentence.
The prosecutor has argued that Benzema is “not just anyone” and that he “carries an image, a reputation and values that are important to protect.”
The prosecution is pushing for heavier punishments against the other defendants in the trial, in details outlined by L’Equipe.
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They are calling for two years in prison and a fine of €5k against Karim Zenati in view of his judicial past, while Mustapha Zouaoui – who has been described by the prosecution as “the linchpin” of the case – has been requested to face four years in prison and a fine of €15k.
The trial began on Wednesday in the Court of Versailles and is set to be concluded on Friday with a verdict on all defendants expected, with the defence still to speak.
Benzema is alleged to have acted as an intermediary between a group of alleged blackmailers and Valbuena, who was filmed in an intimate scenario.
The Madrid striker is charged with encouraging his then-international teammate to match the demands of those blackmailing him and therefore an attempt to extort money from the player.
Valbuena refused the alleged request, and both players were subsequently excluded from the France international setup in 2016 – with Benzema only returning to the fold for Les Bleus earlier this year.
The player’s lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, told the Efe agency in January, as per Marca : “The decision to bring him to trial is an absurd and unfair cruelty.
“Benzema has nothing to reproach himself with in this summary.”
Benzema has not been present at the hearing, having starred for Real Madrid in Tuesday night’s Champions League victory at Shakhtar Donestk and is now preparing to face Barcelona in Sunday’s highly-anticipated El Clasico match in La Liga.
Valbuena, who now plays for Greek club Olympiakos, has been present at the hearing with L’Equipe reporting that he is claiming for damages of €150k (£126k).
Benzema spent a night in jail in Versailles in November 2015 before being charged with complicity in blackmail and a separate charge of association with criminals – the latter charge that was not upheld by the prosecution.
Police are said to have used an undercover agent known as “Luka” to help obtain proof to help bring the case to court.
The timing of the trial comes as Benzema is in the best form of his career on the pitch and is one of the leading contenders for the Ballon d’Or awards this year.
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Benzema explained in an interview with Diario AS: “Since I was little, I have had the dream of winning the Ballon d’Or, which is the dream that all footballers have.
“Of course, I am going to do everything possible and I am going to work as hard as possible to have that great trophy, to hopefully win it one day and fulfil that dream that I have had since I was a child.”
Benzema helped France to winning the Nations League earlier this month having been restored to Didier Deschamps’s squad ahead of Euro 2020.
