Andrew Tate and brother Tristan will stand trial over rape and human trafficking charges in Romania

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother will stand trial over rape and human trafficking charges in Romania, the Bucharest Court ruled on Friday. The 37-year-old was arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest along with his brother Tristan Tate and two Romanian women.

Tate’s spokeswoman, Mateea Petrescu, said the ruling will be appealed. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June last year. They have denied the allegations.

Before the court’s decision on Friday, the legal case had been discussed for months in the preliminary chamber stages, a process in which defendants can challenge prosecutors’ evidence and case file.

The Tate siblings, once renowned kickboxers holding citizenship in both the United States and Britain, stand as main suspects in a human trafficking trial in Romania. This legal proceeding poses a significant challenge for Romania's anti-organised crime prosecuting unit, DIICOT. In Romania, the penalty for trafficking adults is a maximum of 10 years imprisonment, as is the case for rape.

From late December 2022 to April 2023, the Tate brothers were detained by police to prevent potential flight or tampering with evidence during the investigation. Following this, they were placed under house arrest until August. Subsequently, the courts subjected them to judicial control, a less restrictive measure allowing freedom of movement within the country but barring international travel.

Despite seeking permission to visit their mother in Luton after her heart attack, officials denied their request during Christmas.

According to Romanian prosecutors, the Tate brothers lured their victims into false relationships or marriages as a means of recruitment. These individuals were then transported to properties outside Bucharest, where they were subjected to physical and psychological coercion, being exploited sexually to produce pornographic material for lucrative gains on social media platforms.

Tate, boasting a massive following of 9.1 million on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), has vehemently denied the accusations, alleging a lack of evidence and attributing the situation to a political conspiracy aimed at silencing him.