Bucharest: A court in Romania's capital has ruled that a trial can begin in the case of divisive influencer Andrew Tate, accused of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
The Bucharest Court ruled that the prosecution's case against Tate, 37, met the legal criteria for a trial. The case has been argued for months in a preliminary hearing, a process in which defendants can challenge evidence and the prosecution's case file.
Tate, 37, who has amassed 9.1 million followers on social media platform X, was arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest along with his brother, Tristan Tate, and two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally charged them in June last year. They have denied the allegations.
Andrew Tate, left, and his brother Tristan wait at the Court of Appeals building in Bucharest, Romania, in January.Credit: AP
He was previously banned from several prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech. Both Tates have dual British and American citizenship.
Andrew Tate has repeatedly claimed that Romanian prosecutors have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him.
The court did not set a date for the start of the trial. Tate spokeswoman Mateea Petrescu said the ruling has been appealed.
“The sentence handed down by the preliminary court judge lacks legal basis and reasoning,” said Eugen Vidineac, one of the brothers' lawyers, after the decision. “We have filed a strong appeal because we believe the sentence is illegal.”
Ioan Gliga, another lawyer for the Tates, said: “We reaffirm our belief in the fairness of the arguments we presented during the preliminary hearing and in the memoranda regarding the legality of the criminal investigation. Although they did not receive the “necessary attention to the preliminary hearing, we are sure that the appellate court will support us.”
After the arrest of the Tates and the two women, the anti-organized crime agency DIICOT said in a statement that it had identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were subjected to “acts of physical violence and coercion mentally” and sexually exploited by members of the alleged criminal group. The agency said victims were lured with pretenses of love, then intimidated, put under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into participating in pornographic acts for substantial financial gain.
