Former social media influencer Andrew Tate has been granted a court order while facing human trafficking charges in Romania. The country has allowed him to leave its borders since Friday (July 5), but Tate must remain in the European Union, According to Associated Press.
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More details on Romania’s recent verdict on Andrew Tate
Tate spokesman, Mateea Petrescuwelcomes the Bucharest Court’s decision to allow the 37-year-old man to leave the country “major victory and great step forward” in the case. One of Tate’s other lawyers, Eugen Vidineac, also spoke out:
“We welcome and applaud today’s court decision, which I view as a reflection of my clients’ exemplary conduct and support,” he said, adding that Tates “remains determined to clear their name and reputation.”
Vidineac said the ability to travel within the 27-nation EU would allow Tates to “pursue career opportunities without restriction”.
It is unclear whether prosecutors can or will appeal the court’s decision. Tate was arrested near Bucharest in 2022, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally charged all four in June last year, and all four have denied the charges.
Andrew responded to Friday’s ruling on social media, writing, “I AM FREE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 3 YEARS I CAN LEAVE ROMANIA. THE FAKE CASE IS FALLING DOWN.”
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To put things into perspective, Andrew Tate is also facing charges of rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Romanian officials initially arrested the former professional kickboxer and British-American citizen in December 2022.
In a separate case, Andrew Tate has been served with a civil lawsuit filed by four British women at his home in Romania after the High Court in London upheld their complaints, according to a statement released in May by McCue Jury & Partners, the law firm representing the four women. The four accused Tate of sexually and physically assaulting them and reported him to British authorities in 2014 and 2015. After a four-year investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute him in 2019.
Andrew Tate, who has 9.5 million followers on social media platform X, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors have no evidence against him and that there is a political plot to silence him.
He was previously banned from multiple social media platforms for allegedly expressing misogynistic views and using hate speech.
Meanwhile, a trial for Tate has been approved for April but has yet to be scheduled. Once his trial in Romania is over, the UK will extradite Tate to face similar charges.
For clarity, the Tate brothers also appeared before the Bucharest Court of Appeal in March. British authorities have issued arrest warrants for alleged sexual assault in a case in the UK from 2012-2015.
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Associated Press reporters Nicolae Dumitrache and Stephen McGrath contributed to this report.
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