Andrew Tate Released From House Arrest in Romania

By Jon Blistein

Andrew Tate was released from house arrest but will remain under judicial control as he awaits trial on rape and human trafficking charges in Romania.

The controversial, far-right influencer, his brother Tristan Tate, and two Romanian associates, Georgiana Naghel and Luaana Radu, had appealed the house arrest sentence, which was handed down at the end of March. The new judicial control sentence, per CNN, will last 60 days, from Aug. 4 to Oct. 2, and places heavy restrictions on where the four defendants can travel and who they can see — including the alleged victims.

A spokesperson for the Tates said, “Andrew and Tristan Tate’s appeal for judiciary control has been approved by the Romanian courts, and they are no longer under house arrest. They are now free to travel within Bucharest and Ilfov county. However, they may have the opportunity to travel beyond these boundaries with the prior approval of the courts.”

The spokesperson added that the Tates will not be allowed to be “in close proximity with defendants, any of the witnesses or any of the alleged victims and their immediate family.” The spokesperson added, “The authorities are yet to decide on the frequency of the control checks with the Romanian police.”

In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, lawyers representing four women in the U.K. — who have accused the Tates of rape, physical assault, and coercive behavior — said they were “concerned about the implications” Tate’s release from house arrest “might have on the judicial process in Romania, and the threat it may cause to justice for the alleged victims of Mr. Tate across the globe.”

They continued: “We hope that the decision will not lead to acts of intimidation and harassment towards victims and witnesses, and that the Tates will not use this decision as an opportunity to try and flee the country. We stand in solidarity with all the alleged victims of the Tates, and commend all those who have come forward to date. We would urge anyone else with information to come forward and seek legal advice.”

The Tates and the other two co-defendants were originally detained for 24 hours after their arrest last December, but a judge granted prosecutors’ request to extend that arrest period for 30 more days. That timeframe was extended again, and the defendants’ appeals were rejected until they were all finally released on house arrest in March.

In June, prosecutors in Romania finally brought criminal charges against the Tates, including rape and human trafficking; the brothers, along with Naghel and Radu, were also accused of forming a criminal human trafficking group. Authorities said the victims included seven women who were misled and transported to Romania, where they were sexually exploited and physically abused.

The defendants have all denied the charges, with Andrew Tate specifically arguing he’s never had to coerce any partners into doing sex work form. He even told Tucker Carlson recently that he had “no financial motivation” to force women to make online content for him.

Rolling Stone has reported extensively on Tate’s various controversies and how he created a character and built his misogynistic, extremely-online empire. Recently, we obtained leaked text messages from the War Room — Tate’s all-male network of associates — that appeared to show Tate explaining how he recruited women to work for him, or how he manipulated one of his girlfriends into doing sex work for him. (At the time, a spokesperson for the Tates cast doubt on the source and authenticity of the text messages.)

On top of the pending charges in Romania (no trial date has been set yet) and the possible litigation in the U.K., the Tates have also filed a defamation suit against another woman from Florida, claiming her accusations against them were false and led to their arrests in Romania.

This story was updated at 11:32 a.m. with a statement from lawyers representing four Andrew Tate accusers in the U.K.