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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Graeme Massie

Andrew Tate held for third month in Romanian prison after losing latest appeal

AP

Andrew Tate will remain in prison after a Romanian court upheld a third 30-day detention for the social media influencer.

Mr Tate, who is being held in the country on suspicion of human trafficking and organised crime, lost his appeal against a judge’s decision on 21 February to keep him behind bars for another month.

The former professional kickboxer arrived at the Bucharest Court of Appeal handcuffed to his brother Tristan, who is also being held in custody.

It is the third appeal since their initial arrest that the brothers have lost.

Two women being held in the same case will remain under house arrest, according to Romania’s anti-organised crime unit, which is known as DIICOT, according to The Associated Press.

No one has yet been formally charged in the case and all four individuals will now remain in custody until at least 29 March.

Mr Tate, 36, has lived in Romania since 2017 and has become best known for his misogynistic views, which have seen him banned from a string of social media platforms.

He has claimed that prosecutors have no evidence against him and that his arrest is part of a “political” conspiracy to silence his views.

Following the court appearance on Monday, Mr Tate’s Twitter account posted a message, which read, “They weaponise lies to keep me in here. But you cannot hide the sun forever.”

And he later added: “Always winning isn’t the point of God’s battles. The point of God’s battles is so you can show him the strength of your heart when you lose.”

DIICOT officials have said that six victims of alleged human trafficking were subjected to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” and sexually exploited by the suspects.

Investigators say that the alleged victims were lured by romance before being coerced into pornography for the financial gain of the crime group.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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