Imprisoned in Romania, Tate brothers continue to postpone trial – DW – 11/04/2024

It’s a warm, sunny autumn day in the Romanian capital Bucharest, and not much is happening outside the beautiful neo-Renaissance Palace of Justice in the center of the city. Only one television crew waits at the building for a glimpse of the two world-famous and highly controversial men on trial.

The hearing involved Andrew and Tristan Tate, two notorious misogynists and social media influencers with millions of followers. The charges against them include human trafficking and abuse of women.

But on October 31, as has happened several times before, the judge postponed setting a start date for the trial following requests from lawyers representing the two men to suspend the proceedings, including requests questioning whether the evidence presented was admissible is. The brothers, who have dual British and American citizens, have denied any wrongdoing.

Many perpetrators are never convicted

The Tate brothers, especially Andrew Tate – once a kickboxer – achieved worldwide fame on social media more than ten years ago. They have millions of followers on TikTok and other platforms and have made headlines for expressing extremely misogynistic views and calling for violence against women. They have also spread racist, homophobic and far-right sentiments in their posts and videos.

After Andrew Tate was briefly arrested in Britain for assault and alleged rape in 2015, he and his brother Tristan moved to Romania the following year. It is possible that they did this deliberately. Romania has one of the worst records in the European Union when it comes to the abuse of women and human trafficking.

European Commission Reports from 2023 shows that of the more than 7,000 women who fall victim to human trafficking and abuse in the EU every year, more than 3,000 come from Romania. The Romanian legal system is slow to handle these cases, and it is not uncommon for perpetrators to delay trial and never be convicted.

Trial postponed repeatedly

Andrew and Tristan were first arrested in Romania at the end of 2022 on suspicion of human trafficking and rape. They were investigated by the country’s Directorate for Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism.

The Tate brothers are said to have lured women to their network using the loverboy method, in which men pose as caring boyfriends before forcing their victims into prostitution and also appearing in online sex channels and pornographic films.

Police have seized luxury cars and other valuables and cash from the Tate brothers at their property in Voluntari, northeastern Bucharest.

Since then, the Tate brothers’ case has become a judicial odyssey. In March 2023, the two were released and placed under house arrest, from which they were released in August 2023. A court in Bucharest decided in April 2024 that the couple should face a criminal trial. The charges include forming a criminal organization, human trafficking in the case of 34 women, assault and rape. However, since then the trial has been repeatedly postponed.

The Romanian authorities are soft on human traffickers

The Tates were last arrested in late August. Andrew, now 37, was placed under house arrest, while Tristan, 36, was placed under court supervision. In early October, a court ruled that luxury cars seized by authorities would be returned, as they were not registered in their names, but in the names of relatives and friends.

As the Tate case shows, Romanian police and courts often appear to be soft on abusers. Although the legal situation has improved in recent years, trafficking and violence against women continue in Romania. According to the Rise Project research network, anti-mafia prosecutors estimate that there are approximately 3,000 to 4,000 human traffickers operating in Romania.

The US Department of State report on human trafficking in Romania in 2023 said legal changes and long trial periods continued to hamper prosecutions and lead to impunity for some officials complicit in human trafficking crimes. The report also states that some judges are unaware of child trafficking and show prejudice against victims from socially disadvantaged groups.

Tates has caused little public controversy in Romania

In their videos, the Tates’ misogynistic statements attempt to teach men how to attract women, make women dependent on them, and rape them. The brothers believe that men should be in charge of women and make the decisions because women are supposedly lazy and incompetent. Yet the Tates appear to have caused little public controversy in Romania.

In July, when the Tates were accused of human trafficking and rape, Andrew took the stage at the Beach, Please! festival in Costinesti on the Black Sea and was cheered by thousands of spectators.

American rapper French Montana brought him on stage and shouted: “Romania loves you, my brother!” – to the tune of a well-known song by a famous pop star from the Balkans, which celebrates the power of money and solves all life’s problems.

This article was originally written in German.