A Romanian court on Tuesday ruled that Andrew Tate must remain in custody after being arrested on human trafficking charges.
Tate, a 36-year-old American-British national, is being held in jail for at least 30 days along with his brother and two other suspects.
Why was Andrew Tate’s appeal dismissed?
According to DIICOT’s Ramona Bolla, the court rejected an appeal against a judge’s earlier order to extend his detention from 24 hours to 30 days.
The Bucharest Court of Appeal dismissed Tate and the other suspects’ challenge to the 30-day arrest warrant, calling it “unfounded”.
A judge’s earlier decision to extend their detention was based on the belief that Tate and the other suspects could flee Romania and evade investigations into their alleged wrongdoing. The court said it believed Tate and the others could go to countries that “do not allow extradition.”
Why was Andrew Tate arrested?
Tate was first taken into custody on December 29 for a 24-hour period, with the four people accused of forming an organized crime group to sexually exploit six women.
Tate’s lawyers have said there is no evidence to support the criminal allegations. Image: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via Portal
Romanian prosecutors say the women were lured into a relationship with Tate and other suspects under false pretenses. The women were then coerced into sexual acts on camera, which then made money for Tate and the others online.
Tate and the other defendants have denied the allegations against him and are appealing the Romanian arrest warrant.
DIICOT’s Bolla said the Romanian government had seized land and luxury vehicles belonging to Tate and the other suspects.
Tate, a former professional kickboxer, is known for his misogynist remarks. He is believed to have lived in Romania since 2017 after leaving the UK for a sexual assault investigation.
The controversial influencer, who has around 4.5 million followers on Twitter, was banned from the social media platform in 2017 for violating its terms of service until his account was restored by owner Elon Musk in November.
His arrest in Romania followed a high-profile Twitter spat involving prominent Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
wd/fb (AP, Portal)