A COURT IN Romania has upheld the 30-day arrest of influencer Andrew Tate on charges of organised crime, human trafficking and rape, an official said last night.
Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romanian anti-organised crime agency DIICOT, said that a court in the capital Bucharest had rejected an appeal by Tate against a judge’s earlier decision to extend his arrest from 24 hours to 30 days.
The divisive social media personality had been waiting for the court to rule.
Tate, 36, a British-US citizen who has 4.4 million followers on Twitter, was initially detained for 24 hours on 29 December along with his brother Tristan, who was charged in the same case.
Two Romanian women were also taken into custody.
All four immediately challenged the arrest extension a judge granted to prosecutors on 30 December.
Their lawyer Eugen Vidineac said that the defendants “were able to express themselves”.
“It was a long day,” he said at the end of the court hearing, which lasted several hours.
Teachers and youth workers recently spoke to The Journal about the “deeply concerning” impact Tate is having on young male students.
The Tate brothers and the two Romanians are under investigation for allegedly coercing women into “forced labour… and pornographic acts”, which they intended to publish online for “substantial financial benefits”.
Just days before Tate was arrested, he had a heated Twitter exchange with Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg which went viral and – though unrelated – fuelled speculation on social media that the arrest was linked to their exchanges.
DIICOT prosecutors have been investigating the suspects for several months and searched Tate’s villa in April.
Romanian police raided five locations across the country in late December.
So far six potential victims have been identified.
Many of the men’s assets, including their collection of luxury cars, were seized.
In 2016, Tate appeared on the “Big Brother” reality television show. But he was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.
He then turned to social media platforms to promote his divisive views, before being banned for misogynistic remarks and hate speech.
Tate was allowed back on Twitter after Elon Musk bought the company, and his handle “Cobratate” currently has 4.5 million followers.
With reporting from PA
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