A Romanian court has rebuffed Andrew Tate’s attempt to appeal the 30-day arrest period handed down against him at the end of last year, The Associated Press reports.
The controversial men’s rights personality, and his brother Tristan, were detained by Romanian prosecutors on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organized crime group at the end of December. The pair were initially detained for 24 hours, but on Dec. 30, a judge granted prosecutors’ request to extend that arrest period for 30 days.
On Tuesday, Jan. 10, the Bucharest Court of Appeal rejected all the appeals against the extension. Four appeals were filed, ostensibly one for each Tate brother and two for the Romanian women who were also taken into custody. All four defendants reportedly appeared at the courthouse but were taken away a few hours before their appeals were rejected.
“Andrew and Tristan are disappointed in the decision; however, they remain confident that their truth will be heard,” a spokesperson for the Tate brothers said in a statement to Rolling Stone.
“Andrew and Tristan vehemently deny all accusations made against them. They do not condone violence towards women or agree with any coercive behavior. Social media is an extremely powerful tool in today’s society. The use of viral, satirical comments and videos across social media has led some of the public to believe fictitious allegations against the Tate brothers. Social media has connected people worldwide at the touch of a button; however, it is important to remember that everything you see and read online should be taken with caution and more profound research.”
With the decision to uphold the arrest warrant extension, prosecutors can now try to broaden that period even further, up to 180 days, for each person charged. In approving the initial extension, a Romanian judge said the possibility of the Tate brothers “evading investigations cannot be ignored,” adding that they could “leave Romania and settle in countries that do not allow extradition.”
The Romanian anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, has accused Tate and the other defendants of “acts of physical violence and mental coercion.” They suspect the Tate brothers of running a human trafficking organization, luring women to their property with the promises of romantic relationships, before coercing them into working in their webcam studio. Tate has previously bragged about turning girlfriends into adult performers and has extolled the “pimp” lifestyle.
Along with arresting the Tate brothers, prosecutors have also seized at least 15 luxury cars and over 10 properties or parcels of land owned by companies registered to them. A spokesperson for DIICOT told Insider that the cars would help “sustain the cost of the investigation” and may go towards paying alleged trafficking victims.
This story was updated Jan. 11 at 9 a.m. EST with the Tate brothers’ spokesperson’s statement.