Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Court rejects Andrew Tate’s request to visit his mother in the UK after heart attack

A spokesperson for Andrew Tate says a court in Romania has rejected the divisive influencer's request to leave the country to visit his mother

Via AP news wire
Friday 22 December 2023 16:16 GMT
Andrew Tate appears in court in November

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A Romanian court on Friday rejected a request by the divisive influencer Andrew Tate to temporarily leave the country to visit his mother in the U.K. after she had suffered a heart attack, his spokesperson said.

Tate is charged in Romania with human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

After the Bucharest Court of Appeal’s decision, Tate’s spokesperson said the ruling “has left us disheartened.” On Thursday, Tate said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that his mother was hospitalized and that he would ask the court for “an emergency visit to London.”

The court's decision came nearly a year after Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian women were arrested near Bucharest. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June. They have denied the allegations and a trial date hasn’t been confirmed. Still, they can't leave the country.

“Andrew and Tristan have maintained an impeccable record of adhering to all restrictions and have never violated any regulations, affirming their commitment to compliance and proving that they are not a flight risk,” the spokesperson’s statement read.

Tate’s lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, had said before the ruling on Friday that the brothers also wanted to spend the holidays in a familiar environment. Afterward, Andrew Tate tweeted that there is “no innocent until proven guilty in Romania.”

Earlier this month, geographical restrictions were eased against the Tates, allowing them to travel freely around Romania with the court’s prior approval instead of being restricted to areas of Bucharest Municipality and nearby Ilfov County. That decision, which rejected an appeal by prosecutors, was final.

The case against the four defendants is still being discussed in the preliminary chamber stages, a process in which the defendants can challenge prosecutors’ evidence and the case file.

Andrew Tate, 37, who has amassed 8.5 million followers on and Twitter and X, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him. He was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and for hate speech.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in