Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan will be back in court this morning – asking to be released from detention in Romania. And around the world, many will be waiting to see what happens next.
The allegations against the couple, along with two women, relate to allegations of rape, human trafficking and organized crime. They follow the arrest of all four at the end of December.
Romania’s DIICOT unit, which investigates terrorism and organized crime, says it has identified six victims who were subjected to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” and were “sexually exploited by members of the group”.
The Tates were arrested in their large house in the suburbs of Bucharestand placed in cells a short distance from the main appeal court, where they will appear today.
They have been there ever since, except for a brief period when it is understood that one of the brothers was taken out for medical treatment.
Their lawyers will argue that their detention is illegal and that the property seized by the Romanian authorities must be returned to them.
The hearing will start in the morning, with Tate’s lawyer Eugen Vidineac telling Sky News it could “take all day”.
He is expected to tell the court that there is no evidence against his clients beyond a single statement and that due process was not followed.
Andrew Tate has built a huge social following through his highly provocative posts, threatening tweets and short films, which portray women as submissive to men and have been widely condemned as misogynistic.
Photo: Twitter
Read more:
Romanian court rules Andrew Tate will be detained for 30 days
Who is Andrew Tate, the self-proclaimed “king of toxic masculinity”?
He has described himself as the “king of toxic masculinity” and claims to have built a fortune on a business empire that focused on webcam pornography and the so-called “Hustlers University”, which charges monthly fees to members to teach them how to make more money, and has been criticized as a pyramid scheme designed simply to promote Tate’s growing fame.
The allegations against him center on an allegation that he and his brother lured women to Romania under the guise of a romantic relationship and then forced them to commit pornographic acts under duress, which were later filmed.
Tate was kicked off Instagram and TikTok for posting hateful content, but his Twitter account, with 4.4 million followers, was recently restored to the platform following Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter.
He now uses it to publish a series of messages proclaiming his innocence and blaming “the Matrix” for “attacking him”.
