Romanian Court Has Just Upheld Trafficking Detainment of Self-Described Misogynist Andrew Tate

According to a statement made by an official late on Tuesday night, a court in Romania’s capital city of Bucharest has upheld Andrew Tate’s 30-day arrest on charges of organized crime, human trafficking, and rape. Tate is a controversial social media personality who describes himself as a misogynist, according to the AP. 

Tate filed an appeal against an earlier decision by a judge to prolong the duration of his imprisonment from 24 hours to 30 days. According to Ramona Bolla, a spokesman for the Romanian anti-organized crime agency DIICOT, the appeal was denied by the court.

Tate, age 36, is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States and has amassed 4.5 million followers on Twitter. On December 29, he and his brother Tristan, who was also accused in the same case, were first imprisoned for a period of twenty-four hours. Two ladies from Romania were also brought into prison at this time.

A judge’s judgment from December 30 to approve prosecutors’ request to prolong the time of arrest was challenged in court on Tuesday evening, and all four of those challenges were turned down by the court. According to the paper that explained the judge’s rationale, “the possibility of them evading investigations cannot be ignored,” and that they could “leave Romania and settle in countries that do not allow extradition.”

Handcuffed on arrival before the Court of Appeal in Bucharest on Tuesday, Tate and the other three defendants were subsequently removed from the building in the afternoon. After the morning session, a Romanian defense attorney named Eugen Vidineac, who is defending Tate, spoke to the media and informed them that “all four of the accused have made statements” adding that “all four of the accused have made statements”

It is believed that Tate, a former professional kickboxer, has been living in Romania since 2017. He was banned from many popular social media sites for expressing ideas that were considered to be offensive to women as well as hate speech. In the week leading up to his detention, he engaged in a Twitter spat with the climate activist Greta Thunberg, who is just a teenager.

DIICOT reported finding six victims in the trafficking case who had been sexually exploited and subjected to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” by the suspected criminal gang.

The organization claims that victims were enticed with the promise of romantic relationships before being threatened, monitored, and otherwise controlled into engaging in sexually explicit actions for financial gain.

According to DIICOT spokeswoman Bolla, investigators have confiscated 15 high-end vehicles, seven of which belonged to the Tate brothers, and more than 10 homes or land held by corporations connected to them.

Bolla said that the Tates’ assets  “will be taken by the state and (will) cover the expenses of the investigation and damages to the victims” in the event that prosecutors are able to demonstrate that the Tates made money via the practice of human trafficking.

Because the arrest warrant extension was confirmed by the court of appeals, the prosecutor’s office now has the ability to seek detentions of up to 180 days for each of the four persons who have been accused.

Following Tate’s detention, his Twitter account has been updated with a number of postings. Every every tweet receives extensive coverage in the media.

The first one was published on Sunday, and it was followed by a report from Romania that suggested either he or his brother had needed medical attention since their detention. The tweet went:“The Matrix has attacked me. But they misunderstand, you cannot kill an idea. Hard to Kill.”

Another post read: “Going to jail when guilty of a crime is the life story of a criminal … going to jail when completely innocent is the story of a hero.”