Luoti says Amirkhani threatened crew and wielded an axe

Mira Luoti testified that Makwan Amirkhani threatened members of a production crew and wielded an axe, Yle reported from his trial at Western Uusimaa District Court. Amirkhani denies that the events she described took place.

Luoti said Amirkhani was in a very bad mood and that she tried not to provoke him. At a spruce-branch shelter in a nature reserve, she said, he raged, chopped wood with an axe and threatened to burn down the forest.

She testified that she was panicking but tried to go to sleep. She said Amirkhani then touched, licked and kissed her despite her telling him no. “I thought he could even strangle me,” she said.

Luoti said she eventually pretended to be dead, escaped and went into the forest. Amirkhani is accused of forcing her to perform a sexual act. He will give his account later in the day.

Yle said it is naming both parties because the case has received widespread public attention and they are public figures. The trial is being held in public.