Bucharest Appeal Court sends Tate brothers’ human trafficking case back to prosecutors
The Bucharest Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday, November 19, to return the case involving Andrew and Tristan Tate to prosecutors at DIICOT, citing several irregularities. The judges also decided to remove several pieces of evidence and statements from the file, according to News.ro.
The Tate brothers face charges of organized crime, human trafficking, and continuous rape. The court's decision is final.
The Bucharest Court of Appeal admitted the appeals filed by the Tate brothers, as well as by Georgiana-Manuela Naghel and Alexandra-Luana Radu, against the decision of the Bucharest Tribunal from April of this year.
The court identified several irregularities, including "the manner of presenting the factual situation and describing the constituent elements in the case of the crime of human trafficking committed by the appellants Radu Luana and Naghel Georgiana-Manuela; violation of the right to defense of the defendant Tate III Emory Andrew concerning the manner of notification of the accusation of human trafficking regarding the injured person Christiana Bourne; failure to indicate the amounts for which it is necessary to order special confiscation," according to News.ro.
Notably, testimony from two witnesses and statements by the Tates were excluded.
DIICOT prosecutors now have five days to decide whether to pursue the case with revised charges or drop it. A new hearing is scheduled for December 10, 2024.
The Tate brothers' legal team called the ruling a major victory. "This decision highlights significant weaknesses in the prosecution's case and supports our clients' claims of innocence," their lawyers said.
The Bucharest Tribunal ruled at the end of April that the trial of Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan could start. At the time, the preliminary chamber judge found the legality of the indictment and rejected several requests and exceptions formulated by the lawyers of the two brothers. Their legal representatives, however, appealed the ruling.
irina.marica@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea)
