Bucharest, Romania –
A Romanian court on Wednesday upheld the second 30-day detention of schism influencer and former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate, who is being held on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking, officials said. said.
Ramona Bora, spokeswoman for Romania’s anti-organized crime agency DIICOT, said Tate had dismissed an appeal against a judge’s decision to extend the second arrest for 30 days on January 20.
Tate, 36, a British and US citizen with nearly five million followers on Twitter, arrived at the Court of Appeals in Bucharest handcuffed by his brother Tristan. None of the four have yet been formally charged.
The court has dismissed the appeal and all will remain in custody until February 27 as prosecutors continue to investigate the case. They had previously lost an appeal to his 30-day extension earlier.
According to documents seen by the Associated Press outlining the January 20 decision, the judge identified “a particular danger for the defendants” and victims who were “increasedly vulnerable in search of better life opportunities.” Considering their ability to
American attorney Tina Grandian, who has represented celebrities including singer Chris Brown and former heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson, joined Tates’ legal team on Wednesday to work with them.
“The defense team engaged in extensive legal arguments, pointing to the lack of evidence against the Tate brothers,” she said at a pre-sentencing press conference. “The Tate brothers are controversial public figures.” It’s no secret, but this is not about their public persona…this is about violations of international human rights and due process of law.”
“So far the system has failed,” she said. “The Tate brothers, both U.S. citizens, have now spent more than 30 days in prison without bail or charges.”
As the Tates left court after Wednesday morning’s hearing, Andrew Tate said:
Tate, who has been living in Romania since 2017, was reportedly banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogyny and hate speech. He claimed there was “zero evidence”, instead claiming it was a “political” attack to silence him.
“My case is not criminal, it’s political. It’s not about justice or fairness. It’s about attacking my influence in the world.”
His Twitter followers have grown by the hundreds of thousands since his first arrest in December. His online petition launched in January to free his brother has attracted nearly 100,000 signatures.
After the Tates and two women were arrested, anti-organized crime agency DIICOT said in a statement that they had been subjected to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” and were sexually exploited in the trafficking case. He said he had identified a human victim. A member of a suspected criminal group.
Victims were lured under the pretense of love and later threatened, placed under surveillance, subjected to other control tactics, and coerced into engaging in pornographic acts for substantial financial gain, according to the agency. It was
Last month, Romanian authorities stormed a property linked to the Tate Brothers near Bucharest, towing luxury cars including Rolls-Royces, Ferraris and Porsches. They report seizing assets worth an estimated US$3.9 million.
Prosecutors say that if the car owner can prove that he or she made money through trafficking or other illegal activities, the money will be used to pay for the investigation and compensate the victims. Tate also did not appeal the foreclosure.
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McGrath reported from Sighisoara, Romania.
