Tate Brothers Detained in Romania Continue to Postpone the Case – DW – 11/04/2024

It’s a warm, sunny autumn day in Bucharest, Romania’s capital, and not much is going on outside the magnificent neo-Renaissance Palace of Justice in the center of the city. Only a television crew is waiting by the building to see the trial of two world-famous and highly controversial men.

The trial involved Andrew and Tristan Tate, two notorious misogynists and social media influencers with millions of followers. Charges brought against them include human trafficking and exploitation of women.

But on October 31, as had happened many times before, the judge postponed setting the start date of the trial after lawyers representing the two men requested a stay of the trial, including motions questioning whether the evidence adduced was admissible. The brothers, who are dual British-US citizens, have denied any wrongdoing.

Many perpetrators are never punished

The Tate brothers, specifically onetime kickboxer Andrew Tate, rose to worldwide fame on social media more than a decade ago. They have millions of followers on TikTok and other platforms and have made headlines for expressing highly misogynistic views and calling for violence against women. They also spread racist, homophobic, and far-right sentiments in their posts and videos.

After Andrew Tate was briefly arrested in England for alleged assault and rape in 2015, he and his brother Tristan moved to Romania the following year. It’s possible they did this on purpose. Romania has one of the worst performance records in the European Union on the exploitation of women and human trafficking.

Reports of the European Commission dated 2023 It shows that of the more than 7,000 women who are victims of trafficking and exploitation in the EU every year, more than 3,000 come from Romania. The Romanian justice system is slow to process these cases, and it is not uncommon for perpetrators to delay hearings and never receive punishment.

The hearing was postponed many times

Andrew and Tristan were first arrested in Romania in late 2022 on suspicion of human trafficking and rape. The people in question were investigated by the country’s Organized Crime and Terrorism Investigation Directorate.

The Tate sisters are said to have pretended to care for their boyfriends before forcing their victims into prostitution and luring women into their networks using the lover boy method, where they appeared on online sex channels and porn movies.

Police seized the Tate brothers’ luxury cars, as well as other valuables and cash, from their property in Voluntari, northeast of Bucharest.

Since then, the Tate brothers’ case has turned into a judicial odyssey. In March 2023, the pair were released from custody and placed under house arrest; They were subsequently released in August 2023. The Bucharest court ruled in April 2024 that the couple should face criminal proceedings. The charges included establishing a criminal organization, human trafficking of 34 women, assault and rape. However, the hearing has been postponed many times since then.

Romanian authorities are soft on smugglers

The Tates family was 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 ordered the return of luxury cars seized by authorities because they were registered in the names of family members and friends, not in their names.

As the Tate case shows, Romanian police and courts often appear to be lenient on abusers. Although the legal situation has improved in recent years, trafficking in women and violence against women continues in Romania. Anti-mafia prosecutors estimate that approximately 3,000 to 4,000 traffickers operate in Romania, according to the investigative Rise Project network.

US State Department Report on human trafficking in Romania in 2023 He said legislative changes and long trial times continue to impede prosecutions and lead to impunity for some officials complicit in human trafficking crimes. It was also stated that some judges were not aware of child trafficking and were prejudiced against victims from socially disadvantaged groups.

Tates causes little public controversy in Romania

Tates’ misogynistic statements in his videos teach men to influence women, make women dependent on them, and rape them. The brothers believe that men should be in charge of women and call the shots, as women are considered lazy and incompetent. Yet the Tates appear to have caused little public controversy in Romania.

In July, when Tates was accused of human trafficking and rape, Andrew appeared on the Beach, Please! The festival, held in Costinesti on the Black Sea, was applauded by thousands of spectators.

American rapper French Montana brought him on stage and shouted, “Romania loves you, brother!” – the melody of a well-known song by a famous Balkan pop star, celebrating the power of money to solve all life’s problems.

This article was originally written in German.