Controversial Influencer Andrew Tate Wins House Arrest Appeal in Romania

Ruling in Favour of Influencer and His Brother

Andrew Tate, a divisive social media influencer with 5.4 million Twitter followers, has won an appeal to be moved from detention to house arrest after spending three months in a Romanian jail on suspicion of organised crime and human trafficking. The Bucharest court of appeal ruled in favour of his appeal, along with that of his brother Tristan, which challenged a judge’s decision last week to extend his arrest for the fourth time for 30 days.

No Formal Indictment as Yet

Tate, who is a British-US citizen and self-proclaimed misogynist, was detained in Bucharest in December 2021, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women, Naghel Georgiana Manuela and Radu Alexandra Luana. All four have denied the allegations of organised crime and human trafficking, and none have yet been formally indicted. The ruling means that they will remain under house arrest until 29 April, according to Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romania’s anti-organised crime agency, DIICOT.

Communications Director Speaks Out

Tate’s communications director, Mateea Petrescu, said the ruling was a relief for the four detainees. She told Sky News that “They are not a flight risk and they are not a danger to public safety, therefore [the authorities] have decided to release them under house arrest. They are absolutely ecstatic. They kept their spirits [in jail], they are really thrilled and looking forward to being at home – they have kept their optimism throughout.”

Influencer Suspended from Social Media Platforms

Tate, a former professional kickboxer, is banned from having an account on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube for violating rules on “dangerous individuals” and breaching hate speech rules. He was suspended from Twitter in 2017 but allowed back in November 2022. He has repeatedly claimed that Romanian prosecutors have no evidence and alleged that their case is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.

DIICOT Identifies Alleged Victims in Trafficking Case

DIICOT said in a statement after the December arrests that they had identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were allegedly subjected to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” and sexually exploited by members of the alleged crime group. The agency said the victims were lured with pretences of love and later intimidated, placed under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into engaging in pornographic acts for the financial gain of the crime group. In January, Romanian authorities said they had seized goods and money worth almost £3.25m from the influencer’s compound, including a fleet of luxury cars.

Credit: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2023/mar/31/andrew-tate-released-from-detention-and-moved-to-house-arrest-in-romania

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