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The trial of Moroccan national Ayoub el
Khazzani, who opened fire aboard a Thalys train traveling
through Northern Europe in August, 2015, started on Monday in
Paris.
Khazzani's lawyer had asked before the trial began that the
court call Eastwood as a witness, claiming that he could "shed
some light" on the authenticity of scenes depicted in his movie.
Eastwood's movie is based on a book written by the trio entitled
"The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and
Three American Heroes".
Khazzani told investigators before the trial he decided against
the attack at the last second but that it was too late to avoid
the confrontation with passengers, a judicial source has said.
The movie however does not show this claimed change of heart.
The defence lawyer feared the film could influence people's view
of the attack. She wanted to question Eastwood on what
instructions he had given as a director to the actors.
Anti-terrorism prosecutors opposed the lawyer's request. They
said Eastwood had not witnessed the incident and that it made no
sense to call on a 90-year-old in the midst of a pandemic. They
accused the defense of seeking to "to create a buzz".
The judge refused the request, arguing that Spencer Stone,
Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos, the young Americans who
immobilised Khazzani before anyone was killed, would testify on
Thursday and Friday.
The three men were awarded a medal of honor by then French
president Francois Hollande, along with Mark Moogalian, a
French-American professor who was shot in the back by Khazzani
with a handgun after snatching his Kalashnikov rifle.
Moogalian, who is now 56, will also appear as a witness on
Thursday.
(Reporting by Tangi Salaün; Editing by Richard Lough and
Alexandra Hudson)
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