Andrew Tate allowed to leave Romania following latest court ruling
A court in the Romanian capital ruled on Friday that social media influencer Andrew Tate can leave Romania but must remain in the European Union until he is tried in Bucharest for human trafficking and rape, one of his lawyers said.
Mr Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, are fighting charges brought by Romanian prosecutors in June 2022, accusing them and two Romanian women of running an organised criminal organisation and trafficking women in Romania, Britain and the United States.
Mr Tate, a 37-year-old British-American former kickboxer, has built a large online following by promoting a brand of masculinity associated with chauvinistic views, conservative values and extravagant displays of wealth.
Eugen Vidineac, one of Tate’s lawyers in Romania, said in an interview Friday that the court is gradually loosening its grip on the Tate brothers.
“It was a good decision,” he said. “It makes sense that things will become more relaxed over time.”
The judge was assessing whether the charges were legitimate, Mr Vidineac said. No date had yet been set for the next hearing.
The brothers were jailed for three months in December 2022 and placed under house arrest in April 2023. In August of that year, a court ordered their release but required them to remain in Romania.
“I am free,” said Mr. Tate said on social media on Fridayand asked his followers for advice on whether he should travel to Cannes, France, the Italian Alps or elsewhere in Europe, and what sports car he should drive. “For the first time in three years I can leave Romania. The sham case is falling apart.”
In another post, Mr. Tate shared a video of his brother and himself, smoking cigars while dancing to Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing.”
The brothers deny the allegations and say they were targeted because of their wealth.
The Tates were arrested in March on a separate warrant from British authorities, accusing the brothers of sex crimes. Andrew Tate has been banned from prominent social media sites and has been criticized for his misogynistic views by many, including British teachers.
Joseph McBride, a New York lawyer representing Mr. Tate in a defamation lawsuit he filed against a woman in Florida over allegations that contributed to the charges in Romania, said the brothers’ legal team celebrated the ruling as a victory.
“If someone is charged with human trafficking, and it’s a serious case, there’s no way the controls are going to be relaxed, there’s no way those guys are going to be allowed back on the streets,” Mr. McBride said in an interview.
The ruling, he added, was “clear and convincing evidence that the charges against them are based on falsehood.”
