Bucharest, Romania — A court in the Romanian capital ruled on Friday that a trial could begin in the influencer’s case. Andrew Tate, accused of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang aimed at sexually exploiting women. The Bucharest court ruled that prosecutors’ case against Tate met the legal criteria, but did not set a date for the trial to begin.
Tate spokesperson Mateea Petrescu said the decision was appealed.
Tate, 37, was arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest with his brother Tristan Tate and two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally charged all four in June last year. They denied the allegations.
“The decision made by the pre-trial chamber judge lacks legal basis and motivation,” Eugen Vidineac, one of the brothers’ lawyers, said after the decision. “We have filed a strong appeal because we believe the decision is illegal.”
Vadim Ghirda/AP
Before the court’s decision Friday, the legal matter had been discussed for months during the chamber’s pretrials, a process in which defendants can challenge evidence and prosecutors’ case.
“We reaffirm our confidence in the fairness of the arguments we presented at the preliminary hearing and in the notes regarding the legality of the criminal investigation,” said Ioan Gliga, another lawyer for the Tates. “Although they did not receive the necessary attention during the preliminary hearing, we are confident that the panel of judges of the court of appeal will support us.”
Andrew Tate, who has 9.1 million followers on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has repeatedly claimed that Romanian prosecutors have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to do so. to hush up.
Tate had previously been banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and for hate speech. Both Tates have dual British and American nationality.
Last month, the Bucharest court extended geographic restrictions on Tate, a former professional kickboxer, by stipulating that he could not leave the country. Tate had requested to be able to travel within the European Union with the prior approval of a judge.
After their arrest, the Tate brothers were detained for three months by police before being placed under house arrest. They were then restricted to the municipality of Bucharest and the neighboring county of Ilfov, but can now travel freely throughout Romania.
Also last month, the Tate brothers appeared before the Bucharest Court of Appeal in a separate case, after British authorities issued arrest warrants over sexual assault allegations in a British case dating back to 2012 -2015.
Court of Appeal granted British request to extradite the Tates in the United Kingdom, but only after the conclusion of the legal proceedings in Romania.
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