Romanian judge grants 30-day extension of Tate detention

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A judge in Romania has granted prosecutors another request to extend by 30 days the arrest of Andrew Tate, the social media personality who has been detained in the country for weeks as prosecutors investigate a case of human trafficking case and rape, an official said Friday.

Tate, 36, a British-U.S. citizen who has 4.7 million followers on Twitter, was initially detained on Dec. 29, in Bucharest, Romania’s capital, on charges of being part of an organized crime group, human trafficking and rape. His brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women are also detained in the same case.

Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson from Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, told The Associated Press that prosecutors on Thursday requested the second 30-day extension to keep all four in detention while investigations continue. That request was granted on Friday, Bolla said.

The judge’s decision came after all four lost an appeal last week at a Bucharest court, which ruled to uphold a judge’s Dec. 30 move to uphold an earlier decision to extend their arrest from 24 hours to 30 days.