Andrew Tate gets 30-day detention on human trafficking, rape charges
Controversial social media figure and ex-kickboxer Andrew Tate's legal problems seem to have aggravated. Following his arrest in a human trafficking and rape case on Thursday, he has now been sent to 30-day detention by a Romanian court. Along with Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian citizens were also held by the authorities. They, too, have been detained for a month. Here's more.
The Tate brothers were originally detained for 24 hours
Ramona Bolla, Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) spokesperson, confirmed to the media that four suspects were put on pre-trial detention for 30 days after their arrest on Thursday. Reportedly, the Tate brothers were originally detained for 24 hours, but the prosecutors requested a Bucharest court to extend the detention of all the suspects as part of the ongoing investigation.
They have been accused of forcing women to create porn
Confirming the arrest of Andrew Tate and others, the prosecutors said, "The four suspects...appear to have created an organized crime group [to] recruit, house, and exploit women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialized websites for a cost." Romania's DIICOT also released the video of a raid, which showed guns, knives, and money on display.
'There are no grounds for this drastic preventive measure'
Tate's lawyer Eugene Constantin Vidineac expressed his displeasure following the court order. He said, "From our perspective, there are no grounds for taking this most drastic preventive measure. But it is the judge's prerogative." His spokesperson earlier said, "Andrew and Tristan Tate have the utmost respect for the Romanian authorities and will always assist and help in any way they can."
No, the pizza box had nothing to do with arrest
Several reports initially claimed that Tate's whereabouts were revealed due to a pizza brand that was featured in one of his videos on Twitter. However, this is a hollow theory. DIICOT spokeswoman Bolla told AFP, "To determine whether a person is in the country or not, we use a whole range of means," adding that "arrest warrants and searches" were already in place.
This is the video posted by Tate
These are some of Tate's most infamous comments
Andrew Tate has been at the center of endless controversies over the last few years. He has been at the receiving end of criticism for his sexist comments, endorsement of toxic masculinity, unapologetic homophobia, and claiming that "depression isn't real," among others. He has also gone to the extent of saying that "women should bear some responsibility for being raped," among other comments.
