Makwan Amirkhani goes on trial in Finland on a rape charge; he denies wrongdoing

Former UFC fighter Makwan Amirkhani is charged with rape, and his trial begins on Oct. 26 at the West Uusimaa District Court, according to Finnish broadcaster Yle. The charge concerns singer Mira Luoti, who is accused of having been forced into a sexual act. Amirkhani disputes the charge.

Luoti described the alleged assault in a Yle documentary about the band PMMP without naming anyone. Media later reported it related to the filming of the reality series Julkkisselviytyjät in 2017, where the two competed as a couple. Amirkhani then posted that he is suspected of coercion into a sexual act, under Finnish law, and that he denies it.

After it became known that he was the person meant, two women who do not know each other filed police reports against him, one for rape and one for attempted rape. According to police documents seen by Yle, one investigation was closed and in the other no preliminary investigation was opened, because the statute of limitations had expired. Amirkhani is therefore not charged, convicted or suspected in those cases. Yle has not been able to confirm the women's accounts from other sources, and Amirkhani has not commented on them to Yle.