A court in Romania’s capital, Bucharest, has ruled that a trial can proceed for Andrew Tate, who is charged with human trafficking, rape, and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Tate, 37, was arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest with his brother and two Romanian women. The Bucharest Tribunal ruled that prosecutors’ case file against Tate met the legal criteria but did not set a date for the trial to begin. Tate’s spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said the ruling has been appealed. The Tates, who are dual British-U.S. citizens, have denied the allegations.
The legal case against the Tate brothers has been discussed for months at the preliminary chamber stages, during which the defendants were able to challenge the prosecutors’ evidence and case file. The brothers’ lawyers, Eugen Vidineac and Ioan Gliga, have filed a strong appeal, claiming that the ruling lacks legal basis and reasoning. They believe the ruling to be unlawful and are confident that the appeal court judge panel will support them. Andrew Tate, a former professional kickboxer with 9.1 million followers on social media platform X, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors in Romania have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him.
The Bucharest Tribunal extended geographical restrictions against Tate, prohibiting him from leaving the country. Tate had requested permission to travel within the European Union with prior approval from a judge, but this request was denied. After being held in police detention for three months following their arrest, the Tate brothers were placed under house arrest and restricted to Bucharest and nearby Ilfov County. However, they can now travel freely around Romania. Last month, the Tate brothers appeared at the Bucharest Court of Appeal in a separate case, where British authorities issued arrest warrants over allegations of sexual aggression in a U.K. case dating back to 2012-2015. The appeals court granted the British request to extradite the Tates to the U.K., but only after legal proceedings in Romania have concluded.
The Tate brothers have been indicted on charges of human trafficking, rape, and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. They were arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest with two Romanian women. The legal case against them has been discussed at the preliminary chamber stages, during which the defendants had the opportunity to challenge prosecutors’ evidence. The brothers’ lawyers have filed a strong appeal, claiming that the ruling lacks legal basis and reasoning. Andrew Tate, who has been banned from various social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech, denies the allegations and believes there is a political conspiracy against him.
Despite their arrest in December 2022, the Tate brothers have been released to house arrest and are restricted to Bucharest and nearby Ilfov County. Last month, the Bucharest Tribunal extended geographical restrictions against Andrew Tate, preventing him from leaving the country. The brothers have requested to be able to travel within the European Union with prior approval from a judge, but this request was denied. They can now travel freely around Romania, but a separate case in the U.K. dating back to 2012-2015 has led to extradition requests, which have been granted but will only take place after legal proceedings in Romania have concluded. The Tate brothers continue to deny the allegations against them and maintain their innocence.
