Controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother have been released from jail in Romania and placed under house arrest for 30 days instead, according to court documents.
The self-proclaimed misogynist, 36, and his sibling Tristan, were released from a detention facility in Bucharest just before midnight local time.
Accompanied by their lawyer Eugen Vidineac, the pair made few comments to a crowd of journalists and supporters. Mr Vidineac spoke briefly in Romanian before the brothers pushed through the crowds to a car with darkened windows and drove off.
The pair, along with two Romanian women Naghel Georgiana Manuela and Radu Alexandra Luana, are being investigated by prosecutors in the capital Bucharest.
Georgiana Manuela has been widely reported to be Andrew Tate’s girlfriend.
The four suspects have been detained for months over allegations of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
They have denied all the accusations.
Andrew Tate’s communications director, Mateea Petrescu, told Sky News: “They are not a flight risk and they are not a danger to public safety, therefore [the authorities] have decided to release them under house arrest.
“[It’s] just a small step — they are still under investigation
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“They are absolutely ecstatic. They kept their spirits [in jail], they are really thrilled and looking forward to being at home – they have kept their optimism throughout.”
An order from an appeals court in Bucharest said it “rejects the proposal to extend the duration of the preventive arrest measure.. regarding the defendants Tate III Emory Andrew, Tate Tristan, Naghel Georgiana Manuela and Radu Alexandra Luana.
“[The court] replaces the measure of preventive detention ordered against the defendants.. with the preventive measure of house arrest, for a period of 30 days.”
The document concluded that it “orders the immediate release of the defendants”.
Image: Luxury cars apparently belonging to Tate being seized in Romania
British-American Andrew Tate, who has been based mainly in Romania since 2017, is an online influencer who has amassed millions of followers, particularly young men.
The former professional kickboxer and his sibling were taken into custody on 29 December last year and neither of them has been formally charged in the case. They have had previous requests to be released from custody rejected four times since December.
Romania’s anti-organised crime agency DIICOT said in a statement after the arrests that it had identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were allegedly subjected to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” and sexually exploited by members of the alleged crime group.
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Romanian police release release video of a raid following the arrest of Andrew Tate.
The agency said victims were lured with pretences of love and later intimidated, placed under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into engaging in pornographic acts for the financial gain of the crime group.
Romanian authorities said they had seized goods and money worth almost £3.25m from the controversial influencer’s villa, including luxury cars.
Tate is banned from Instagram, Facebook and YouTube for violating rules on “dangerous individuals” and breaching hate speech rules. He was kicked off Twitter in 2017, but allowed back in November 2022.
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Image: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Image: Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.