A court in Bucharest, Romania, on Friday gave the green light for the start of the human trafficking trial of controversial influencer Andrew Tate after rejecting appeals lodged by the defendants as "unfounded."

What did the court rule?

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

The court has "established the legality of the administration of evidence and the execution of acts by the criminal prosecution authorities and orders the start of the trial," a statement said. 

Tate's spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said the ruling will be appealed.

The legal case had been stuck for months in the preliminary chamber stages — a process in which the defendants can challenge evidence in the case.

Who is Andrew Tate?

The former kickboxer has gained millions of fans by promoting an ultra-masculine luxury lifestyle that critics say denigrates women.

Tate has amassed 9.1 million followers on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

He was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and for hate speech. 

What is the case against Tate?

Tate was detained in December 2022 along with his brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women.

Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June last year for human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

They have denied the allegations.

After their arrest, the brothers were held for three months in police detention before being moved to house arrest.

They were later restricted to Bucharest Municipality and nearby Ilfov County, but can now travel freely around Romania but not leave the country.

Tate has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors in Romania have no evidence against him and that there is
a political conspiracy to silence him.

In March, a Romanian court approved a request from Britain to extradite the Tate brothers on allegations of sexual aggression dating back to 2012-15.

But their return can only take place after the completion of the Romanian trial.

mm/wmr (AFP, AP, Reuters)