Former social media influencer Andrew Tate got a court-appointed W while facing human trafficking charges in Romania. The country is allowing him to leave its borders as of Friday (July 5), but Tate must remain within the European Union, per the Associated Press.
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More Details On Recent Romania Ruling On Andrew Tate
Tate’sspokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, hailed the Bucharest Tribunal’s decision to allow the 37-year-old to leave the country as “significant victory and a major step forward” in the case. One of Tate’s other lawyers, Eugen Vidineac, also spoke out:
“We embrace and applaud the decision of the court today, I consider it a reflection of the exemplary behavior and assistance of my clients,” he said. Adding that the Tates are “still determined to clear their name and reputation.”
Vidineac said the ability to travel within the 27-nation EU bloc will allow the Tates to “pursue professional opportunities without restriction.”
It is not clear whether prosecutors can or will appeal the court’s decision. Tate’s 2022 arrest went down near Bucharest along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June last year, and all four have denied the allegations.
Andrew responded to Friday’s ruling via social media, writing, “I AM FREE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 3 YEARS I CAN LEAVE ROMANIA. THE SHAM CASE IS FALLING APART.”
Why Is The Influencer Behind Bars?
For context, Andrew Tate is also facing charges of rape and creating a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Romania officials initially arrested the former professional kickboxer and dual British U.S. citizen in December 2022.
In a separate case, Andrew Tate was served at his home in Romania with a civil lawsuit lodged by four British women after a claim was issued by the High Court in London, according to a statement released in May by McCue Jury & Partners, the law firm representing the four women. The four allege Tate sexually and physically assaulted them and reported him to British authorities in 2014 and 2015. After a four-year investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service decided in 2019 not to prosecute him.
Andrew Tate, who has amassed 9.5 million followers on the social media platform X, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him.
He was previously banned from various social media platforms for allegedly expressing misogynistic views and using hate speech.
Meanwhile, a trial against Tate was approved in April but has yet to be scheduled. When his Romania trial wraps up, the U.K. is clear to extradite the Tates to face similar charges.
For context, the Tate brothers also appeared in March at the Bucharest Court of Appeal. British authorities issued arrest warrants over allegations of sexual aggression in a U.K. case dating back to 2012-2015.
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Associated Press reporter Nicolae Dumitrache and Stephen McGrath contributed to this report.
