Andrew Tate, an online personality known for his misogynistic comments, has been released from jail in Romania along with his brother and placed under house arrest while they are being investigated on allegations of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized criminal group.
Mr. Tate, 36, a former professional kickboxer with 5.8 million Twitter followers, and his brother Tristan, 34, had been in custody since they were arrested in Romania in December along with two Romanian women. They were released on Friday.
The Tate brothers and the two women will remain under house arrest until at least April 29, when the prosecution is expected to ask for an extension of their investigation for another 30 days, a spokesman for the brothers said on Monday, adding that no indictment had been brought against them.
“Teams like mine cannot lose,” Andrew Tate tweeted on Sunday. The brothers, who hold dual citizenship in Britain and the United States, have denied the allegations.
Andrew Tate’s arrest has not prevented him from posting to social media, where he had previously said that women “belong” to men, should stay at home and need men’s direction. He has also portrayed men as victims of feminism and false rape accusations.
Ramona Bolla, a spokeswoman for the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism in Romania, said that the authorities were continuing to investigate. “The measure of house arrest is a preventive measure,” she said. Under Romanian law, the trial must start by June, which would be six months after the Tate brothers were accused of crimes.
The authorities have searched the Tate brothers’ homes in Romania, under the belief that the properties were connected to human trafficking and rape.
The authorities have said they are investigating whether the suspects created a criminal group in 2021 to engage in human trafficking in Romania, the United States and Britain. Six victims, who were allegedly coerced into performing sexual acts, were housed in buildings outside Bucharest, prosecutors said. On two separate occasions in March, one of the suspects used violence and psychological pressure to rape a victim, prosecutors said.
As the brothers left the detention facility in Bucharest on Friday, Tristan Tate told reporters that the judges had made the right decision.
“I respect what they’ve done for me and they will be vindicated in their decision, because I’m an innocent man and I can’t wait to prove it,” he said.
Stefania Matache contributed reporting.
