BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A judge in Romania has granted a request to extend by another 30 days the arrest of Andrew Tate, the social media personality who was detained in the country on charges of being part of an organized crime group, human trafficking 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. His brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women were arrested and held in the same case.
Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, told The Associated Press that prosecutors requested the second 30-day extension Thursday to keep all four in detention while the investigation continued. A judge approved the request Friday, she said.
The judge’s decision at the Bucharest Tribunal came after all four lost an appeal last week in a Bucharest court against a judge’s Dec. 30 ruling to extend their arrests from 24 hours to 30 days.
The Tates are also likely to appeal Friday’s extension.