The French prosecutor's office asks for 10 months in prison for Benzema

The Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Versailles requested this Thursday a penalty of 10 months in jail exempt from compliance for the forward of the Real Madrid 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, taking refuge in their sports obligations.

The Madrid player was charged in this case for a conversation he had with Valbuena in which he alerted him of the consequences of not responding to the threats of the blackmailers, which made the former Olympique de Marseille player suspect that he was involved in the plot.

In the event that the court's sentence coincides with the request of the Prosecutor's Office, Benzema he would only have to go to 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 He 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 penalties of between 4 years in prison and 18 months, as well as much lower fines than requested against Benzema.

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

In the case of the Madrid attacker, he acknowledged that "it's not just anybody" 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 at blackmail, "he said.

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

"Not the good samaritan who comes to help his partner, is an accomplice who seeks to help the blackmailers, "he said.

The highest penalty requested was for Mustapha Zouaoui, considered "the engine of the plot", ideologue 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 seven years in jail and a 15,000 euro fine.

For Axel Angot, the man who acquired the sex video with which they tried to blackmail Valbuena and the only one who acknowledged the penalty, asked for 18 months in prison and a 15,000-euro fine.

The prosecutor requested 18 months in prison and 5,000 euros fine for Younes Houass, the intermediary used to contact Valbuena, and 2 years in prison and 5,000 euros for Zenati.