Andrew Tate appeals detention in Romanian court, fans restless to know verdict

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have appealed against their detention as they appeared in Romanian court on rape and trafficking charges on Tuesday.

The American-British influencer arrived at a court today morning to appeal a judge’s earlier decision to extend his arrest period from 24 hours to 30 days on charges of being part of an organized crime group, human trafficking and rape.

The 36-year-old, who' followed by 4.5 million followers on Twitter, was initially detained last month along with his brother Tristan, who is charged in the same case. Two Romanian women are also in custody.

The former Kickboxing champion's lawyer Eugen Vidineac has immediately challenged the arrest extension that was granted to prosecutors on December 30. 

A document explaining the judge’s motivation for the extension says “the possibility of them evading investigations cannot be ignored,” and that they could “leave Romania and settle in countries that do not allow extradition.”

A verdict from Bucharest’s Court of Appeal is expected to come later Tuesday, Eugen Vidineac, the Romanian lawyer representing Tate, has told media persons outside the court.

Eugen Vidineac on Monday told Romanian outlet Gandul that the defence had not been given the opportunity to study the prosecution file for the case, saying: "I will point this out from the beginning, that even up to the present moment, the criminal investigation file has not been made available to us to ensure the effective defence of our clients."