Andrew Tate – live: Brothers appear in Romania court for rape and trafficking charges
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Andrew Tate and his brother are now appearing in a Romanian court after being arrested for human trafficking, rape and organised crime charges.
Tate’s lawyer has claimed there is “no evidence” to support the allegations against him or his brother.
The former professional kickboxer turned controversial influencer, 36, and his brother Tristan were detained in Romania last month as part of an investigation by the Romanian organised crime bureau.
Eugen Vidineac, who represents both brothers, told Romanian newssite Gandul the defence had not been given the opportunity to study the prosecution file for the case.
“I will point this out from the beginning, that even up to the present moment, the criminal investigation file has not been made available to us to ensure the effective defence of our clients.
“In this sense, I would like to point out, at least from this point of view, I am also somehow amazed, there is not a single piece of evidence apart from the victim’s statement that leads to the idea that a crime of rape was committed.”
Key Points
Tate brothers to appear in court today for rape and human trafficking charges
Lawyer says ‘no evidence’ for claims against Tate brothers
Andrew Tate account says ‘Matrix attacked me’
Tate ‘hospitalised after medical exam’, says report
All we know about Andrew Tate’s brother arrested in human trafficking raid
08:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta
Tristan Tate, who is also a former kickboxer turned social media influencer, was detained in December as part of an investigation into human trafficking and rape by Romania’s anti-organised crime agency Didcot.
While the headlines around the arrest focused on the more famous Andrew Tate, his brother is less well known.
Thomas Kingsley reports:
All we know about Tristan Tate after arrest with brother Andrew in trafficking raid
Tate brothers to appear in court today for rape and human trafficking charges
07:47 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Romanian court is due to rule on Tuesday on a challenge filed by Andrew Tate, an internet personality notorious for hate speech, against his 30-day arrest for alleged human trafficking and formation of an organised crime group to exploit six women.
Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects were detained by Romanian anti-organised crime prosecutors on Dec. 29 pending a criminal investigation.
They have denied wrongdoing through an attorney and have challenged the arrest warrant.
Prosecutors have said the Tate brothers recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship.
The victims were then taken to properties on the outskirts of capital Bucharest and through physical violence and mental intimidation were sexually exploited by being forced to produce pornographic content for social media sites which generated large financial gains, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors also said one of the brothers raped one of the victims in March of last year, which is when the investigation started.
“The possibility that the suspects would evade investigation, leave Romania and settle in countries that do not allow extradition given their financial possibilities and public comments to that regard cannot be ignored,” the court judge said in the written record approving the arrest.
Prosecutors have seized 15 luxury vehicles and over 10 properties and homes belonging to the suspects in Bucharest and Prahova and Brasov counties, Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romanian anti-organized crime unit DIICOT, told Reuters.
The seizure was meant to prevent the assets being sold or concealed.
Should the court uphold the arrest warrant and the investigation need more time, prosecutors can seek approval for further extensions of up to 180 days of detention under Romanian law.
Andrew Tate’s lawyer says ‘no evidence’ to support trafficking or rape allegations
06:45 , Sravasti Dasgupta
The lawyer representing social media personality Andrew Tate has claimed there is “no evidence” to support allegations of human trafficking, rape or organised crime against him.
Josh Payne has more:
Andrew Tate’s lawyer says ‘no evidence’ to support trafficking or rape allegations
ICYMI: Andrew Tate sends cryptic social media update saying ‘Matrix attacked me’ amid reported hospitalisation
05:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta
Far-right influencer Andrew Tate sent a cryptic tweet on Sunday amid local media reports that one of the two Tate brothers had been hospitalised in Romania.
The tweet read: “The Matrix has attacked me. But they misunderstand, you cannot kill an idea. Hard to Kill.”
Maroosha Muzaffar reports:
Andrew Tate sends cryptic social media update amid reported hospitalisation
04:00 , Katy Clifton
Andrew Tate is no stranger to controversy.
The former kickboxer and social media influencer, who has gained notoriety over the years for peddling misogynistic views, was detained in Romania on Thursday 29 December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organised crime group, prosecutors said.
Take a look at our story below for everything you need to know about the influencer:
How did Andrew Tate make his money?
ICYMI
02:00 , Katy Clifton
The lawyer representing Andrew Tate has said there is “no evidence” to support allegations of human trafficking, rape or organised crime against the social media influencer or his co-accused.
The former professional kickboxer turned controversial online personality, 36, and his brother Tristan, who grew up in Luton, Bedfordshire, were detained in Romania last month as part of a human trafficking and rape investigation.
Eugen Vidineac, who represents both brothers, told Romanian online newspaper Gandul he believed the character someone like Tate portrays on social media could not be “used as evidence in a criminal trial” as it may not reflect who they are in real life.
In a video with translated subtitles posted on Andrew Tate‘s Twitter account, Mr Vidineac said it took the Tate brothers “some time to understand” why they were in custody.
Andrew Tate’s ‘character’ can’t be used as evidence, lawyer claims
00:00 , Liam James
Eugen Vidineac, who represents Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, told Romanian online newspaper Gandul that the far-right influencer’s online persona could not be used against him in court.
The lawyer said he believed the character someone like Mr Tate portrays on social media could not be used as evidence in a criminal trial as it may not reflect who they are in real life.
Speaking about what role social media may play in the case, Mr Vidineac said: “In the case of the Tate brothers, I don’t know what their intent was in promoting themselves on social media, but I sit here and wonder, can that intent from the social media stand as evidence in a criminal prosecution case, with respect to a criminal character?”
Romanian anti-organised crime agency Diicot said two British citizens and two Romanians were suspected of being part of a criminal group focused on human trafficking on 29 December.
Their appeals will be heard against a judge’s decision to extend their arrest warrants from 24 hours to 30 days, Diicot added.
Andrew Tate lawyer says rape and trafficking allegations have no evidence
Monday 9 January 2023 23:00 , Liam James
The lawyer representing Andrew Tate has said there is “no evidence” to support allegations of human trafficking, rape or organised crime against the 36-year-old social media influencer or his brother Tristan.
Eugen Vidineac, who represents both brothers, told Romanian online newspaper Gandul the defence had not been given the opportunity to study the prosecution file for the case.
The lawyer said several electronic devices were seized in April last year which were subject to computer searches.
He added: “I will point this out from the beginning, that even up to the present moment, the criminal investigation file has not been made available to us to ensure the effective defence of our clients.
“In this sense, I would like to point out, at least from this point of view, I am also somehow amazed, there is not a single piece of evidence apart from the victim’s statement that leads to the idea that a crime of rape was committed.”
Asked what evidence there was in support of a human trafficking offence, Mr Vidineac said: “In my view, there is no evidence there either, and I’m talking about evidence leading, by itself or directly, to the formation of an opinion of reasonable suspicion regarding the commission of offences provided for and punishable by criminal law.”
Andrew Tate: In 2023, let’s end the curse of the ‘anti-woke’ bigots | Comment
Monday 9 January 2023 22:00 , Liam James
Phil McDuff’s take on the anti-woke wave of last year: 2022 was the year of “anti-woke.” This was the year that saw Elon Musk spend $44Bn on Twitter to defeat “the woke mind virus”, the year of Florida’s “Stop Woke Act”, of the American right siding with Putin over Ukraine because of his “anti-woke” credentials (read, overt homophobia). Woke is in the daily lexicon of both MPs and the press.
Julia Hartley-Brewer was simply going along with the trend, and with her job description, when she joined in the brief Twitter spat between professional misogynist Andrew Tate and climate activist Greta Thunberg. Of course, Hartley-Brewer joined in on Tate’s side. His more “controversial” views – such as married women being the property of their husbands – can be overlooked as simply taking things a bit too far, perhaps due for criticism at the appropriate time, but necessarily overlooked while his opponents are the hated “woke lefties” like Thunberg.
Unfortunately for Hartley-Brewer, a day after she said “I’d choose Andrew Tate’s life *every single time* over the life of a half-educated, autistic, doom-mongering eco-cultist,” Tate had been arrested in Romania on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group. Hartley-Brewer has claimed she didn’t really know who Tate was, branding him “an irrelevance” – for context, Tate has 3.5 million Twitter followers and his TikTok videos have over 13 billion views – and this may be true, but by reflexively opposing Thunberg she ended up associating herself with a dangerous, misogynistic, probably criminal and definitely deeply unpleasant man.
Opinion: In 2023, we need to end the curse of the ‘anti-woke’ bigots
How did Andrew Tate make his money? All you need to know about the influencer arrested in Romania
Monday 9 January 2023 21:00 , Liam James
Andrew Tate is no stranger to controversy.
The former kickboxer and social media influencer, who has gained notoriety over the years for peddling misogynistic views, was detained in Romania on Thursday 29 December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organised crime group, prosecutors said.
Mr Tate and his brother – who have reportedly been under investigation since April – will be detained for 30 days.
Here’s everything you need to know:
How did Andrew Tate make his money?
Who is Tristan Tate? All we know about Andrew Tate’s brother arrested in human trafficking raid
Monday 9 January 2023 20:00 , Liam James
When influencer Andrew Tate was arrested in Romania during a police raid, he was detained alongside three other people - one of them, his brother (Thomas Kingsley writes).
Tristan Tate, who is also a former kickboxer turned social media influencer, was detained in December as part of an investigation into human trafficking and rape by Romania’s anti-organised crime agency Didcot.
While the headlines around the arrest focused on the more famous Andrew Tate, his brother is less well known.
Below we look at everything we do know about him as the investigation into his alleged offences continues.
All we know about Tristan Tate after arrest with brother Andrew in trafficking raid
Romanian authorities seize Andrew Tate’s car collection as investigation continues
Monday 9 January 2023 19:00 , Liam James
Romanian authorities have seized a collection of cars belonging to misogynistic social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan (Maya Oppenheim writes).
It comes days after the 36-year-old self-avowed “success coach” was arrested as part of a human trafficking investigation.
Mr Tate, who once appeared briefly on Big Brother, has referred to married women as “property” that their husbands own.
In footage where Mr Tate talks about feminism, the former kickboxer claims women should “shut the f*** up, have kids, sit at home, be quiet and make coffee”.
Romanian authorities seized the car collection, estimated to be worth over five million euros, as well a number of buildings including one where the brothers lived and allegedly held six young women, according to a local news report.
Romanian authorities seize Andrew Tate’s car collection as investigation continues
Tate brothers could not understand why they were in custody, says lawyer
Monday 9 January 2023 18:30 , Liam James
In a video with translated subtitles posted on Andrew Tate‘s Twitter account, Eugen Vidineac, lawyer for Mr Tate and his brother Tristan, said it took the brothers “some time to understand” why they were in custody.
The brothers, who both have British citizenship, were arrested alongside two Romanians on 29 December as part of an investigation into organised crime, human trafficking and rape.
The pair intend to appeal.
Mr Vidineac earlier said there was no evidence for the allegations against Mr Tate and his co-accused.
Andrew Tate misogyny claims ‘ripped out of context’, says lawyer
Monday 9 January 2023 17:30 , Liam James
More from Eugen Vidineac, the lawyer representing the Tate brothers:
Speaking about claims the men had contempt for women, Mr Vidineac said: “They say that these issues are ripped out of context, out of some interviews they have done on social media.
“But they also say, if we live our lives surrounded by over 300 people, women and men, we have a lot of girlfriends and supporters all over the world, we’ve been out in public all the time with our girlfriends and there have been no complaints from our girlfriends.
“People have come out in public and said that they’ve been with one of the Tate brothers and he’s not a violent, uneducated, abusive character as he is being portrayed at this point.”
Mr Tate has been the subject of much criticism in recent weeks, primarily for his views on women, which have been denounced as misogynistic.
In one video in which he is seen discussing feminism, Tate said women should “shut the f*** up, have kids, sit at home, be quiet and make coffee”.
Andrew Tate’s online ‘character’ can’t be used as evidence, lawyer claims
Monday 9 January 2023 16:30 , Liam James
Eugen Vidineac, who represents Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, told Romanian online newspaper Gandul that the far-right influencer’s online persona could not be used against him in court.
The lawyer said he believed the character someone like Mr Tate portrays on social media could not be used as evidence in a criminal trial as it may not reflect who they are in real life.
Speaking about what role social media may play in the case, Mr Vidineac said: “In the case of the Tate brothers, I don’t know what their intent was in promoting themselves on social media, but I sit here and wonder, can that intent from the social media stand as evidence in a criminal prosecution case, with respect to a criminal character?”
Romanian anti-organised crime agency Diicot said two British citizens and two Romanians were suspected of being part of a criminal group focused on human trafficking on 29 December.
Their appeals will be heard against a judge’s decision to extend their arrest warrants from 24 hours to 30 days, Diicot added.
Andrew Tate lawyers says rape and trafficking allegations have no evidence
Monday 9 January 2023 16:00 , Liam James
The lawyer representing Andrew Tate has said there is “no evidence” to support allegations of human trafficking, rape or organised crime against the 36-year-old social media influencer or his brother Tristan.
Eugen Vidineac, who represents both brothers, told Romanian online newspaper Gandul the defence had not been given the opportunity to study the prosecution file for the case.
The lawyer said several electronic devices were seized in April last year which were subject to computer searches.
He added: “I will point this out from the beginning, that even up to the present moment, the criminal investigation file has not been made available to us to ensure the effective defence of our clients.
“In this sense, I would like to point out, at least from this point of view, I am also somehow amazed, there is not a single piece of evidence apart from the victim’s statement that leads to the idea that a crime of rape was committed.”
Asked what evidence there was in support of a human trafficking offence, Mr Vidineac said: “In my view, there is no evidence there either, and I’m talking about evidence leading, by itself or directly, to the formation of an opinion of reasonable suspicion regarding the commission of offences provided for and punishable by criminal law.”
Andrew Tate account posts again
Monday 9 January 2023 15:30 , Liam James
Andrew Tate’s account posted another tweet referencing the “Matrix”, after an earlier post which said it was responsible for “attacking him”.
Mr Tate has previously claimed to believe that reality is a “Matrix” – referring to the dystopian Keanu Reeves sci-film where people are led by computers to work until they die.
The latest tweet from his account, which also shared a message attributed to Mr Tate’s lawyer, read: “The Matrix does not play fair, they play to win.”
In a recent exchange with climate activist Greta Thunberg, Tate posted a bizarre video in which he accused Ms Thunberg of being a “slave of the Matrix”.
Here’s how to beat toxic men like Andrew Tate | Comment
Monday 9 January 2023 15:03 , Liam James
Sufyan Ahmed’s take on the toxic culture behind the jailed influencer: News of Andrew Tate’s arrest has been met with relief by many hoping this will bring an end to his relevance. However, in my view (and experience) the damage is done. Tate’s views, amplified by social media, has already led to huge numbers of young men from my generation being manipulated, and without urgent intervention we may end up with a lost generation of young men. Let me tell you what I’ve seen.
There is no denying the immense reach Tate achieved. He was the most Googled man over the summer of 2022. Videos with his hashtag have amassed 13 billion views on TikTok. His mentoring scheme currently has 160,000 paying subscribers.
Once you delve into what Tate preaches to the masses, his social media reach is terrifying. Tate has made comments such as, “women bear some responsibility for rape”; has compared women to dogs and proudly confessed in one video with a fellow YouTuber to being an “absolute misogynist”, stating that he was in fact a “realist” and “when you’re a realist, you’re sexist”. The amplification of these views should terrify everyone.
Here’s how to beat toxic men like Andrew Tate
Romanian news says Tate hospitalised after medical exam
Monday 9 January 2023 14:30 , Liam James
Speculation over Andrew Tate’s hospitalisation stems from a report by Antena 3, a CNN-partnered Romania newssite.
The report read: “Yesterday he [Tate] was taken out of the Central Prison of the Capital Police and taken to a hospital because when he was incarcerated, according to the procedures, he was given a medical examination and the prison doctor asked him if he was suffering from certain ailments.
“The attorney for the Tate brothers notified the central detention center and stated that he had certain medical problems.
“Based on this notification, yesterday he was taken to a specialist consultation in a hospital in the capital.”
The report added that he was later returned to the prison where he was being held.
Andrew Tate sends cryptic social media update saying ‘Matrix attacked me’ amid reported hospitalisation
Monday 9 January 2023 13:44 , Liam James
Far-right influencer Andrew Tate sent a cryptic tweet on Sunday amid local media reports that one of the two Tate brothers had been hospitalised in Romania (Maroosha Muzaffar writes).
Mr Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan Tate remain in custody in Romania after they were detained under human trafficking and rape charges. It is unclear whether the tweet was sent by Mr Tate himself or by someone else controlling his account.
Andrew Tate sends cryptic social media update amid reported hospitalisation
