BUCHAREST: Andrew Tate, the controversial social media personality who is set to stand trial in Romania for charges that include human trafficking and rape was not successful yesterday in his bid to have geographical restrictions lifted so he can leave Eastern Europe’s biggest country. The Bucharest Court of Appeal dismissed Tate’s appeal which challenged a May 10 decision extending by 60 days the limitations on movement imposed on the 37 year old man barring him from leaving Romania.
Tate had wanted to be free to travel outside Romania, but remained within Europe’s ID-check-free Schengen zone, partial membership of which started last March.
“It is not about wanting to leave the country,” said Eugen Vidineac, one of Tate’s lawyers while speaking outside court. “Traveling freely is one thing and leaving the country is yet another. The right to travel is constitutional, it is legal and among the basic rights.”
In December last year, Tate together with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women were arrested near Bucharest –the capital city of Romania.
All four were formally indicted by Romanian prosecutors in June last year denying all charges against them.
After spending three months behind police bars at Calea Rahovei precincts, they were placed under house arrest then restricted within Bucharest municipality and Ilfov county before being allowed freedom of movement only within Romania.
Andrew Tate has 9.3 million followers on X alone where he claims there are no evidence against him as well as that there is a political plot against him by prosecutors.
He had previously been banned from several leading social media sites because of alleged hate speech/misogyny.
On April 26th this year Bucharest Tribunal decided that prosecutors’ case against Tate met all legal criteria allowing trial be held. However, no date was fixed for this hearing.
The ruling came after having heard the case for many months here at the preliminary chamber stages when defendants may contest prosecutor’s evidence and case file.
In addition, Tate has also been sued by four British women in a separate civil action in the United Kingdom following a claim that was issued by High Court of London last month according to one statement from one law firm representing those women.
In 2014 and 2015, the four women say Tate sexually assaulted and physically hurt them and then reported him to British authorities. The Crown Prosecution Service investigated this for four years before deciding not to press any charges in 2019. Andrew reached a stage where the complainants resorted to crowd funding in order to bring about a lawsuit against him.
Furthermore, a third separate case saw the appearance of Tate brothers at Bucharest Court of Appeal back in March as a result of British warrants of arrest associated with an alleged sexual aggression between 2012-2015 UK case.
The UK requests made during extradition proceedings were granted by the appellate court but only after all legal matters are concluded here in Romania.
