Andrew Tate's trial on charges of rape and human trafficking can start, a Romanian court rules

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A court in Romania's capital has ruled that Andrew Tate can be tried over charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

The Bucharest Tribunal ruled that prosecutors' case file against Tate met the legal criteria but did not set a date for the trial to begin.

Tate's spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said the ruling has been appealed. Tate, 37, was arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest along with his brother, Tristan Tate, and two Romanian women.

Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June last year. They have denied the allegations. READ MORE: Co-op Live boss reveals exact reasons behind delays to venue's opening as The Black Keys concert re-scheduled the day before - and Peter Kay gigs moved again "The ruling issued by the preliminary chamber judge lacks legal basis and reasoning," Eugen Vidineac, one of the brothers' lawyers, said after the decision. "We have filed a strong appeal as we believe the ruling to be unlawful." Ahead of the court's decision on Friday (April 26), the legal case had been discussed for months in the preliminary chamber stages, a process in which the defendants can challenge prosecutors' evidence and case file. "We reassert our belief in the fairness of the arguments we presented during the preliminary hearing and in the memoranda concerning the legality of the criminal investigation," said Ioan Gliga, another lawyer for the Tates. "Although they did not receive the necessary attention in the preliminary hearing, we are confident that the appeal court judge panel will support us." Andrew Tate, who has amassed 9.1 million followers on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors in Romania have