Andrew Tate's trial on charges of rape and human trafficking can start, a Romanian court rules

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A court in Romania’s capital on Friday ruled that a trial can start in the case of influencer Andrew Tate, who is charged with human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

The Bucharest Tribunal ruled that prosecutors’ case file against Tate met the legal criteria but did not set a date for the trial to begin. Tate’s spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said the ruling will be appealed.

Tate, 37, was arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest along with his brother, Tristan Tate, and two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June last year. They have denied the allegations.

Before the court's decision Friday, 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.

Andrew Tate, who has amassed 9.1 million followers on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors in Romania have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him.

Tate was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and for hate speech.