British-US former professional kickboxer and controversial influencer Andrew Tate (R) and his brother Tristan Tate (L) walk out of the central arrest centre of Bucharest police after three months of pre-trial detention, in Bucharest, on late March 31, 2023. A Romanian court on March 31, 2023 ordered that controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother be moved from jail to house arrest while they are investigated for alleged human trafficking and rape. Picture: Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP
Controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother were released on Friday after three months of detention in Romania and moved to house arrest while they are investigated for alleged human trafficking and rape.
Tate, a British-American former kickboxer with millions of online followers, along with his younger brother and two Romanian women, are under investigation for allegedly ‘forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking and rape”.
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Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan, 34, were arrested in late December, and have been held in pre-trial detention ever since, which was again extended last week.
However, an appeals court ‘rejected the prosecution’s proposal to extend the pre-trial detention” and ordered the pair be placed ‘under house arrest”, according to a court ruling seen by AFP.
Accompanied by their Romanian lawyers, the brothers, who deny all charges against them, were released around midnight from the police central arrest premises in Bucharest amid chaotic scenes. ‘
Freedom at last,” a smiling Andrew Tate said to whoops and hollers from supporters as he arrived at his house.
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‘It’s a little bit emotional, I’ve been in one room since last year.” He thanked the judges for the release and maintained that he was innocent of all charges against him.
Media thronged the entrance, while young fans greeted Andrew Tate with cries of ‘Top G” (for gangster), his nickname.
Tristan said the judges had made ‘the right decision” and vowed to prove that he was ‘an innocent man”. Their lawyer, Eugean Vidineac, said they were forbidden from contacting other people involved in the case and could not ‘leave their home without prior approval from judicial authorities”.
Earlier, he insisted the brothers were not a flight risk.
‘There’s no reason for them to flee, because to be on the run is not a life worth living and the Tate brothers don’t want this life. They are just tired and want to rest,” he said. The two men moved to Romania several years ago.
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