Andrew Tate, a polarising online personality, arrived in handcuffs before a court in Romania on Tuesday morning to contest a judge’s previous order to prolong his detention from 24 hours to 30 days on suspicion of involvement in an organised crime gang, trafficking in persons, and rape.
Tate, a 36-year-old British-American citizen with 4.4 million Twitter followers, and his brother Tristan, who is charged in the same case, were first taken into custody on December 29 in a neighbourhood to the north of Bucharest, the country’s capital. Additionally detained are two Romanian ladies.
The extension of the arrest warrant given to prosecutors on December 30 was promptly contested by all four of them. “The risk of their dodging investigations cannot be overlooked,” according to a document outlining the judge’s justification for the extension, and they could “leave Romania and live in countries that do not allow extradition.”
The Associated Press was informed by Eugen Vidineac, the Romanian attorney representing Tate, that a decision from Bucharest’s Court of Appeal is anticipated later on Tuesday.
After the late December raids, Romania’s anti-organized crime agency DIICOT announced that it had identified six victims in the case who had been sexually exploited and the targets of “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” by the organisation.
According to the organisation, victims were coaxed into committing sexual actions under the guise of love before being bullied, monitored, and subjected to other forms of control.
According to Ramona Bolla, a DIICOT spokesperson, prosecutors looking into the issue have so far impounded more than 10 homes or plots of land owned by firms registered to the Tate brothers as well as a total of 15 expensive cars, at least seven of which are theirs.
According to Bolla, the property “will be taken by the state and (will) cover the expenditures of the investigation and damages to the victims” if prosecutors can show the defendants profited from human trafficking.
Prosecutors may ask for a maximum of 180 days of custody if the court upholds the renewal of the arrest warrant on Tuesday. The accused might be placed under house arrest or other similar restrictions, such as being forbidden from leaving Romania, if the court rejects the extension.
Since Tate’s arrest, a string of cryptic tweets have been published on his account, drawing a lot of media attention to each one.
One, published on Sunday, claims that “The Matrix has assaulted me.” It is backed by a local report that claims either he or his brother have needed medical attention since their imprisonment. However, they are mistaken; an idea cannot be killed. difficult to kill
“Going to jail while guilty of a crime is the life story of a criminal €” going to jail when absolutely innocent is the story of a hero,” reads another post that was published on Saturday.
Tate, who is said to have moved to Romania in 2017, was previously barred from using a number of well-known social media sites for posting hateful and misogynistic comments.
