Andrew Tate loses appeal to end detention in Romania

Andrew Tate has appeared in court amid allegations of rape and sex trafficking and lost his appeal against the 30 day arrest period.

The controversial social media personality has been in custody since Romanian police raided his mansion as part of a major operation on 29 December.

Officers seized money and weapons, and arrested the former Big Brother contestant and his brother, Tristan.

At the time, the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) revealed that it was investigating alleged human trafficking, rape and the formation of an organised criminal group.

It was alleged that Tate and his brother were part of a gang that tricked women into coming to live with him at his mansion in Bucharest.

BBC

They were then said to have been forced, using 'physical violence and mental coercion', into creating pornographic content.

And last week, it was confirmed that the pair would be spending the next 30 days behind bars as investigators make further enquiries into the case and their alleged involvement.

The pair appeared in court today as part of their appeal against the detention order, had they succeeded they may have been kept under house arrest to prevent them from leaving Romania but they lost their appeal attempt.

Tate arrived at the Bucharest’s Court of Appeal in handcuffs today (10 January) and since his arrest he has been able to continue to be active online, with a number of cryptic posts being made on Twitter.

He denies any wrongdoing and has insinuated that his arrest and the allegations made against him are part of some conspiracy brought about by 'the Matrix'.

He said last week: "The Matrix sent their agents."

In another post, Tate added: "I was made for battle. A warrior of the light.

"My enemies hope to attack me with lies. They try to destroy the family unit, they try to silence any loud opposition.

Andrew Tate/Twitter

"I refuse to leave fellow men in the dark. Someone needs to show them the light, Who better than TATE."

Prior to his arrest, Tate was involved in a Twitter spat with Greta Thunberg.

He boasted to the climate activist about his collection of supercars and the 'enormous emissions' they spew out.

"This is just the start. Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions," Tate wrote on Twitter.

But Thunberg came back at the controversial social media figure by also taking to Twitter, saying: "Yes, please do enlighten me. Email me at smalld**[email protected]."

Tate subsequently posted a video directed at Greta, which included the now infamous pizza box that sparked spurious conspiracy theories as to how police managed to track him down.

Responding to his arrest, Greta later tweeted: "This is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes."

Tate's lawyer Eugen Vidineac had said he was hoping for a 'positive solution' ahead of the court's decision, but the verdict in the appeal upheld the initial decision to keep Tate and his brother under arrest for a period of 30 days on charges of organised crime and human trafficking.

Prosecutors could now request a detention period of up to 180 days for Tate if they so wish.