‘My case is not criminal, but political’: Andrew Tate appeals 30-day extension of detention

Andrew Tate, the divisive influencer and former professional kickboxer detained in Romania on charges of organized crime and human trafficking, appeared before a court in Bucharest on Wednesday to appeal against a second 30-day extension of his detention.

Tate, 36, a British-American citizen with nearly 5 million Twitter followers, arrived at the Court of Appeals in Bucharest on Wednesday morning handcuffed to his brother Tristan, who is being held in the same case along with two Romanian women.

All four, who were initially detained in Bucharest at the end of December, will seek to overturn a January 20 judge’s decision to extend their detentions for a second 30-day period at the request of prosecutors.

Previously, they lost an appeal against an earlier extension.

A document seen by The Associated Press explaining the Jan. 20 decision said the judge took into account the “particular danger of the defendants” and their ability to identify victims “with heightened vulnerability, seeking better life chances”.

When the Tates left court after a hearing on Wednesday, Andrew Tate said: “Ask them for evidence and they won’t give you any because it doesn’t exist. You’ll soon find out the truth of this case.”

If the court rejects their appeals on Wednesday, all four will remain in custody until February 27, while prosecutors continue to investigate the case.

Andrew Tate, who reportedly lives in Romania since 2017, was previously banned from several prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech. He has claimed there is “zero evidence” against him in the case, claiming it is instead a political attack to silence him.

“My cause is not criminal, it’s political. It’s not about justice or fairness. It’s about attacking my influence on the world,” read a message posted on his Twitter account on Sunday.

An online petition launched in January to free the brothers has garnered nearly 100,000 signatures.

After the Tates and the two women were arrested, Romania’s anti-organized crime organization, DIICOT, said in a statement it had identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were subjected to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” and sexually assaulted. exploited by the members of the alleged crime group.

The agency said victims were lured with pretenses of love and later intimidated, monitored and subjected to other control tactics while coerced into committing pornographic acts for significant financial gain.

Earlier in January, Romanian authorities descended on a site near Bucharest where they towed away a fleet of luxury cars, including a blue Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari and a Porsche. They reported seizing assets estimated at €3.5 million.

Prosecutors have said that if they can prove the owners made money from illegal activities such as human trafficking, the assets would be used to cover the costs of the investigation and compensate victims.

Tate also unsuccessfully appealed the asset seizure.