A Romanian court has delivered a significant blow to the case against former kickboxer and internet personality Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, ruling that key evidence in the high-profile human trafficking case is inadmissible.
The court’s ruling on Tuesday cited “serious irregularities” in the indictment brought by Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT).
Among the evidence deemed inadmissible were statements from two of the alleged victims and testimonies involving the Tate brothers, all of which the court found to be flawed or improperly obtained, Reuters reported.
The indictment itself was criticized for inconsistencies, including insufficient explanations of the charges and procedural violations.
Andrew Tate, a former kickboxing champion turned internet personality, and his brother Tristan were arrested in late 2022 on allegations of running an organized crime ring involved in human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and pornography production. The allegations include holding women against their will, using physical and psychological coercion, and forcing them to participate in online adult content.
While the accusations initially garnered global attention, they were marred by questions surrounding their credibility. Notably, Andrew Tate himself has maintained his innocence, frequently asserting that the charges are politically motivated and part of a broader agenda to silence him for his outspoken views.
Tates arrest comes hours after the professional kickboxer ignited controversy by taunting environmental activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter.
Last year, Andrew Tate threatened to sue the accusers for $300 million.
Following the ruling, Andrew Tate, a former kickboxing champion and dual British-U.S. citizen with over 10 million followers on the social media platform X, released a video statement.
“Everything the enemies printed on MSM were lies. The prosecution knew they were lies. We knew they were lies. We were meant to die before we got here. They tried to break us. They wanted us destroyed, they wanted us afraid, but we fought back. It was a game of killing us with lies before a judge exposed the truth,” Andrew Tate wrote in the caption.
Partial transcript:
I just busted my case. It turns out that I was telling the truth all along. The highest court in Romania, the appeal court, has just ruled that the evidence collected against me is illegal.
Here, I have a long list of all the illegal elements:
- Emma Gabbey’s statement is illegal.
- Christianna Borne(?) statement is illegal.
- Aliona Untila’s statement is illegal.
- The seizure of all the money they took is illegal.
Based on procedural violations and constitutional decisions, we need to remove all the WhatsApp conversations which were falsely translated. Illegal. The whole case is illegal. Every single thing in that file was a lie. The women lied, and it was all bullshit.
I get all of my things back, everything, and all of it gets sent back to DIICOT. There’s now a formality where DIICOT has five days to mend the file. But how can you fix a file where everything in it is a lie? Witness statements made against Andrew and Tristan Tate were deemed inadmissible. These pieces of evidence, and any reference to them in the prosecution file, must be deleted as requested by the court immediately.
I’m reading it now. They have nothing left. The whole file is wrecked. It’s going to go back to DCOT for five days. They’re going to move some papers around, I guess, or they’re going to come bust in my door and arrest me again because they have to try and fix this file somehow—or it all gets thrown out.
691 days. Three years as American citizens, while the democratically run American Embassy refused to help us. Refused to help us. They didn’t have any interest. “We’ll take a look, maybe.”
Trump comes into office, and instantly the Romanian courts say, “The file’s made up. Throw it away.” Funny how the Trump effect works globally. Funny how J6 wasn’t just a domestic problem. Anyone talking large online, anyone helping Donald Trump, call a case in any country they lived in.
[…]
It goes back to DIICOT, just so you guys understand the Romanian system. It goes back to DIICOT. They have five days to fix the file. They hit me with a second file to arrest me one month before the election to try and stop me from talking big and helping Donald Trump.
That file was made up, too. So, I’m hoping this is a domino effect. This one gets sent back, made up. Second file gets sent back, made up. I’m going to be free pretty soon.
TATESFREE
Everything the enemies printed on MSM were lies.
The prosecution knew they were lies.
We knew they were lies.
We were meant to die before we got here.
They tried to break us.
They wanted us destroyed, they wanted us afraid, but we fought back.
It was a game of… pic.twitter.com/7SRQpbxyBd
— Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) November 19, 2024
