A Romanian official said an appeals court has upheld the 30-day arrest of influencer Andrew Tate on charges of organised crime, human trafficking and rape.
Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romanian anti-organised crime agency DIICOT, said the court late on Tuesday rejected an appeal by Mr Tate against a judge’s earlier decision to extend his arrest from 24 hours to 30 days.
Prosecutors can now seek to extend the detention period for the 36-year-old former kickboxer and controversial influencer to 180 days.
Mr Tate and his brother, who was arrested in the same operation, earlier appeared in a Bucharest appeals court to seek release after being held since 29 December.
On Monday, Mr Tate’s lawyer claimed there was “no evidence” to support the allegations against the influencer or his brother.
Eugen Vidineac, who represents both brothers, on Monday told Romanian newssite Gandul the defence had not been given the opportunity to study the prosecution file for the case. The lawyer also claimed that Mr Tate’s controversial online persona would not be valid evidence in a trial.
