Controversial influencer Andrew Tate has said the “war rages on” after a court in Romania ruled to extend his house arrest.
Tate, 36, was charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women after being arrested alongside his brother Tristan and two Romanian women near Bucharest in December.
Tristan Tate and the two women were charged with human trafficking. All four defendants, who deny the allegations against them, will remain under house arrest for 30 more days after the court ruling on Tuesday.
After spending three months in police detention in Bucharest, the Tate brothers won an appeal on 31 March to be moved to house arrest. They then lost an appeal in July after their house arrest was extended following a request by Romania’s anti-organised crime agency Diicot.
Following Tuesday’s court ruling, Tate tweeted: “After 93 days being locked in a Romanian dungeon, I am now entering my 5th month locked in my house. A judge decided this morning that my detention must continue. The war rages on.”
The Tate brothers, who are dual UK-US citizens, will likely appeal against Tuesday’s ruling.
Tate, who has been described as the “king of toxic masculinity”, has repeatedly claimed prosecutors have no evidence against him and there is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.
Outside the court on Monday, Tate told journalists “the moral arc of the universe bends towards justice in the end”.
“My brother and I are extremely resilient people. In the end justice shall be served,” he said. “We’re feeling like things are going to work out perfectly in the end - and until then we’re going to follow the judicial process.”.
Andrew Tate gives a thumbs up upon exiting the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, Romania— (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Diicot alleges that the four defendants formed a criminal group in 2021 “in order to commit the crime of human trafficking” in Romania, as well as in the US and Britain.
There are seven female victims in the case, Diicot said, who were lured with false pretences of love and transported to Romania, where the gang sexually exploited them and subjected them to physical violence.
One defendant is accused of raping a woman twice in March 2022, according to the agency.
The women were allegedly controlled by “intimidation, constant surveillance” and claims they were in debt, prosecutors said.
Tate was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing hate speech and misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for getting sexually assaulted.
Several women in Britain also are pursuing civil claims to obtain damages from Tate, alleging they were victims of sexual violence.
