The Bucharest Tribunal ruled last Friday, April 26, that the trial of Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan could start. The two are accused of forming an organized criminal group, human trafficking, and rape.

The preliminary chamber judge found the legality of the indictment and rejected several requests and exceptions formulated by the lawyers of the two brothers, Europa Libera Romania reported. Their legal representatives, however, have already appealed the ruling.

Romanian prosecutors sent the Tate brothers to trial in June 2023. Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are dual UK-US nationals, as well as their accomplices, are accused of having formed an organized criminal group in early 2021 with the intention of committing human trafficking on the territory of Romania, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

According to the prosecutors, seven victims were recruited through deception and told that the defendants wanted to marry them. They were later taken to properties just outside Bucharest, where, through acts of physical violence and psychological coercion, they were sexually exploited by members of the group. They were forced to engage in pornographic acts for the purpose of production and distribution through online platforms. 

Three of the seven victims identified have reportedly joined the criminal proceedings as civil parties.

Andrew and Tristan Tate have repeatedly denied the charges.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Sabin Cirstoveanu)