Andrew Tate can now leave Romania despite rape, human trafficking case

Andrew and Tristan Tate must stay within the European Union while they wait for trial proceedings to begin.

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have won a court battle and are now free to leave Romania.

The caveat is the brothers, who are awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, must stay within the European Union while they wait for trial proceedings to begin, The Associated Press reports.

The Bucharest Tribunal’s decision to allow Tate, 37, to leave the country was hailed by his spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, as a “significant victory and a major step forward” in the case. It is not clear whether prosecutors can or will appeal the court’s decision.

Tate, a former professional kickboxer and dual British-U.S. citizen, and his brother were arrested in December 2022 in Bucharest along with two Romanian women. All four were formally indicted in June of last year and they have all denied the allegations.

After the Tate brothers’ arrest, they were held for three months in police detention before being moved to house arrest. They were later restricted to Bucharest municipality and nearby Ilfov county, and then to Romania.

The Bucharest Tribunal ruled on April 26 that the prosecutors’ case file against Tate and his brother met the legal criteria, but did not set a date for the trial to begin.

Tate has repeatedly claimed that Romanian prosecutors have no evidence to use against him and that there is a conspiracy to silence him.

After Friday’s decision, Tate wrote on the social media platform X: “I AM FREE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 3 YEARS I CAN LEAVE ROMANIA. THE SHAM CASE IS FALLING APART.”