Photo: Vadim Ghirda Associated Press Influencer Andrew Tate passes a security check upon arriving for a hearing at the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, Romania, on June 26.
Posted at 3:10 p.m.
- Europe
A Bucharest court ruled Friday that influencer Andrew Tate can leave Romania, but must remain in the European Union while awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
The Bucharest court's decision to allow the 37-year-old to leave the country was welcomed by its spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, who called it a “significant victory and a major step forward” in the affair. It is unclear whether prosecutors can or will appeal the court's decision.
Andrew Tate, a former professional kickboxer and British and American citizen, was initially arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally charged the four in June 2023. All four have denied the allegations.
After Friday's decision, Tate wrote on the social network : “I'M FREE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 3 YEARS, I CAN LEAVE ROMANIA. THE FALSE CASE IS FALLING DOWN.”
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“We accept and applaud the court's decision. I consider it a reflection of the exemplary behavior and collaboration of my clients,” said Eugen Vidineac, one of Andrew Tate’s lawyers, adding that the two brothers are “still determined to clear their names and reputations.” .
On April 26, the Bucharest court concluded that prosecutors' case against Andrew Tate met the legal criteria and that a trial could begin, but did not fixed date.
The move came after the legal case was discussed for months during pretrials, a process in which defendants can challenge evidence and prosecutors' case.
After their arrest, the Tate brothers were detained for three months by police before being placed under house arrest. They were then forced to stay in Bucharest and the neighboring county of Ilfov, and then in Romania in general.
Mr. Vidineac said the ability to travel within the 27-nation European bloc would allow the Tate brothers to “pursue professional opportunities without restriction.”
Andrew Tate, who counts 9.5 million subscribers on the social network
He has previously been banned from various social media platforms for allegedly expressing misogynistic views and hate speech.
In another case, Andrew Tate is at center of a civil action brought by four British women after a complaint was filed by the High Court in London, according to a May statement from McCue Jury & Partners, the law firm representing the four women.
The four women claim that Andrew Tate sexually and physically assaulted them. They reported him to the British authorities in 2014 and 2015.
After a four-year investigation, the British Prosecution Service decided in 2019 not to prosecute him . The alleged victims then turned to crowdfunding to file a civil suit against him.
In a third separate case, the Tate brothers also appeared in Bucharest's Court of Appeal in March after British authorities issued arrest warrants following sexual assault allegations in a British case dating back between 2012 and 2015.
The court accepted the request to extradite the Tate brothers to the United Kingdom, but only after the conclusion of the legal proceedings in Romania.