Andrew Tate, Tristan Tate can be extradited to U.K. after Romania rape trial, court says
A Romanian court has approved a United Kingdom request to extradite influencer Andrew Tate — a U.K and U.S. citizen — and his brother over rape and sexual assault allegations.
The brothers can be extradited after separate trial proceedings conclude in the former kickboxer’s rape and human trafficking case in Romania.
The court ordered Tate and his brother Tristan Tate’s immediate release from police custody in Romania, the BBC and the Independent reported Tuesday.
The controversial internet personality and his brother were detained Monday in Romania and handed an arrest warrant issued by British authorities, their spokesperson Mateea Petrescu told the Associated Press. The brothers were detained for 24 hours on allegations of sexual aggression in a U.K. case dating back to 2012-2015 and appeared Tuesday in handcuffs in the Bucharest Court of Appeal, where they were escorted by police.
Influencer Andrew Tate was arrested in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking. But don’t blame Greta Thunberg or that pizza box for his apprehension.
The brothers “categorically reject all charges,” Petrescu said. They appeared in court Tuesday for the decision about whether to execute the warrants, which were issued by the Westminster Magistrates Court in London, and trigger the extradition process. (It is unclear what Tristan Tate is accused of.)
Bedfordshire Police told the Independent that they obtained a European arrest warrant and are working with authorities in Romania.
According to AP, Tate’s lawyer Eugen Vidineac hailed the court’s decision saying it “provides an opportunity for the brothers to participate fully in their defense” and for the legal process “to proceed in a transparent manner.”
The brothers were detained Monday after four women reported Andrew Tate — a prominent social media personality known for expressing misogynistic views online — to authorities in the U.K. for alleged sexual violence and physical abuse. However, the Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute him, so the alleged victims turned to crowdfunding to cover their legal costs while they pursued a civil case against him.
Andrew Tate, 37, and Tristan, 35, who is also a dual U.K. and U.S. citizen, reject the charges and “express profound disappointment that such serious allegations are being resurrected without substantial new evidence,” their representative told AP.
The law firm representing the four British women who accuse Andrew Tate of rape and physical and sexual assault said in a statement Tuesday that they had urged British police to “immediately seek a warrant” for his detention and extradition after they received information last week that he might have been planning to flee Romania.
A Romanian judge has granted prosecutors’ request to extend the detention of social media personality and self-described misogynist Andrew Tate.
The self-described misogynist, who has reportedly lived in Romania since 2017, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors in Romania have no evidence against him and has long purported that there is a political conspiracy to silence him.
“The Matrix is afraid, but I only fear God,” he said in a Tuesday tweet on his X (formerly Twitter) account, which has amassed a following of 8.9 million. Tate uses the term “Matrix” to refer to a simulated reality created by advanced technology and what he considers to be a broad conspiracy targeting men.
Before the decision was made, Vidineac told journalists Tuesday at court that “as far as we know, this investigation was already closed, we don’t know if this investigation is re-opened if there is any new evidence submitted by the authorities.” Another lawyer representing Tate, Constantin Gliga, noted that the court’s decision will help to “clarify the legal situation” in Romania.
Tate was arrested in December 2022 in Bucharest and charged in June 2023 with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted him, his brother and two Romanian women in June and they have denied the allegations. Their case is being discussed in the preliminary chamber stages, AP reported, a process in which the defendants can challenge prosecutors’ evidence. But no trial date has been set.
The brothers will remain under judicial control in Romania, preventing them from traveling outside the country, the BBC reported.
Lawyers for the alleged abuse victims held a news conference in Bucharest last October in which they accused Tate and his followers of trying to intimidate their clients into silence.
After their 2022 arrest, the brothers were held for three months in police detention. They were later moved to house arrest and were eventually restricted to areas of the Bucharest Municipality and nearby Ilfov County.
Tate was previously banned from prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech. The week he was arrested in 2022, he made headlines for his public war of words with then-teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg.
In January, Tate won an appeal challenging the seizure of his assets by Romanian authorities — including 15 luxury cars, 14 designer watches and cash in several currencies worth an estimated 3.6 million euros ($3.9 million) — in the weeks after his arrest.
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