Romanian court extends Andrew Tate’s detention for third time over allegations: reports
Romanian court on Tuesday agreed to extend the detention of former kickboxer and social media influencer Andrew Tate on suspicions of human trafficking, rape and organized crime for another 30 days, according to reports.
Tate was arrested on 1 December. 29. 2022, with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women after Romanian authorities carried out a raid their property in Bucharest and held them for 24 hours.
Andrew Tate (centre) and his brother Tristan leave after appearing at the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, Romania on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. Divisive social media personality Andrew Tate arrived at court in Romania in handcuffs on Tuesday morning. appeal the judge’s earlier decision to extend his arrest from 24 hours to 30 days on charges of membership in an organized crime group, human trafficking and rape. (AP Photo/Alexandru Dobre)
As of Tuesday, none of the four detainees had been formally charged.
ANDREW TATE DETAINED IN ROMANIA ON SUSPECTED TRAFFICKING: REPORTS
The Associated Press reported that Romona Bolla, a spokeswoman for the Romanian anti-organized crime agency DIICOT, said the prosecutor’s request to extend Tates’ detention for another 30 days had been approved by the Bucharest Tribunal. Two Romanian women are to be placed under house arrest.
Tuesday’s extension was the third granted since the Tate arrest at the end of 2022.
Good Yang On February 20, the judge ordered the Tates to be held behind bars while the investigation into their cases continues.
Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate are escorted by police outside the Bucharest Organized Crime and Terrorism Investigation Office (DIICOT) headquarters after being detained for 24 hours in Bucharest, Romania, December 29, 2022. (Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via REUTERS)
The AP reported that the judge took into account the “special dangers of the defendants” and their ability to identify victims “with heightened vulnerabilities, in search of better life opportunities” when deciding whether to put the brothers behind bars.
ANDREW TATE CLAIMS BIG TECH BANNED HIM AFTER ‘MOST’ PEOPLE AGREE WITH HIS ‘MALE VALUES’
The Tates appealed the referee’s decision, but lost on February 2. 1.
The lawyer representing the brothers, Yevgeny Widineak, reportedly told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s hearing that the defense would contest the extension, insisting there was not enough evidence to keep his clients in custody.
Andrew Tate also reached out to Twitter ahead of the decision.
“I can easily imagine myself in euphoric gratitude for something as simple as having air to breathe,” he said. “I can easily sink into the deepest and darkest depression. I have seen hell. I lived in hell. I can call any state. Your reality is created by you.”
Shortly after the judge extended the Tate brothers’ detention, Andrew released the message again.
“I will be thinking deeply about this decision,” he tweeted.
Tate and his three alleged partners have reportedly been under criminal investigation since April after they were suspected of being involved in a human trafficking scheme in which at least six women were sexually exploited.
“The four suspects… it seems created an organized crime group for the purpose of recruiting, placing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content intended to be viewed on specialized websites for a fee,” prosecutors said. “They would have received significant sums of money.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Reports on Friday suggested that Tate’s renewed social media presence on Twitter could have led to his own arrest.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.