Romanian court says social media influencer Andrew Tate can leave country, but must stay in E.U.

Misogynist social media influencer Andrew Tate, who is accused of forming an organized crime group, human trafficking and rape, is now allowed to leave Romania as he awaits the trial, a court ruled Friday. The Bucharest Tribunal ruled that Tate must remain in the European Union.

On X, formerly Twitter, Tate declared: "I AM FREE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 3 YEARS I CAN LEAVE ROMANIA. THE SHAM CASE IS FALLING APART."

"Where do I go? I can go anywhere I want," he said in a video shared with the post.

Mateea Petrescu, a spokesperson for the 37-year-old social media influencer, hailed it as a "significant victory and a major step forward" in the case.

"We embrace and applaud the decision of the court today, I consider it a reflection of the exemplary behavior and assistance of my clients," said Eugen Vidineac, one of Tate's lawyers, adding that the Tates are "still determined to clear their name and reputation."

Vidineac said the ability to travel within the 27-nation EU bloc will allow the Tates to "pursue professional opportunities without restriction."

Tate, a former professional kickboxer and dual British U.S. citizen, was initially arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June last year and all four have denied the allegations.

Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), accused the four defendants of forming an organized crime group to carry out human trafficking in Romania, the U.K. and the U.S. It says seven alleged victims were recruited by two defendants and misled about their romantic intentions. The alleged victims were then moved to houses where they were intimidated with acts of physical and mental violence, and sexually exploited, according to DIICOT.

The Tate brothers were put under house arrest in March 2023 pending a criminal investigation.

On April 26, the Bucharest Tribunal ruled that the prosecutors' case file against Tate met the legal criteria and that a trial could start but did not set a date for it to begin. That ruling came after the legal case had been discussed for months in the preliminary chamber stages, a process in which the defendants can challenge prosecutors' evidence and case file.

Tate is best known for spreading hate speech, misogyny and violence on social media. Both Facebook and Instagram banned him in August 2022 for violating parent company Meta's policies on dangerous organizations and individuals, and has also been banned from posting videos on YouTube. 

He was suspended by Twitter in 2017 but reinstated on the platform after Elon Musk took ownership of the company in 2022.

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