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BUCHAREST (Reuters) -A Romanian court ruled on Tuesday for the removal of some evidence collected against internet personality Andrew Tate in a human trafficking case, and gave prosecutors five days to decide if they will pursue the trial or withdraw the case.
Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects were officially indicted in June 2023 and the Bucharest court ruled the trial can start this April. The suspects deny any wrongdoing.
Tate has challenged the decision and on Tuesday the appeals court dealt a setback to the anti-organized crime prosecutors' investigation, citing flaws in the indictment and legal rights violations.
The court ruled for the removal of several pieces of evidence from the case file, including statements given by two main alleged victims and witness testimonies from the Tate brothers, both of which it deemed inadmissible.
The court also said it found inconsistencies in the indictment file, including improper descriptions of the acts committed by the female suspects, missing details on the seizure of assets as well as prosecutors' failure to properly explain the charges against Tate to one of the alleged victims.
"The current ruling will be sent to DIICOT (the investigation office) to fix the irregularities in the indictment and to specify within five days if they maintain the intent to send the suspects to trial or whether they withdraw the case," the court ruling said.
The Tate brothers, both former kickboxers with dual U.S. and British citizenship, are the highest profile suspects facing trial for human trafficking in Romania.
"This is a monumental victory for our clients, who have maintained their innocence from the beginning," Tate's lead attorney Eugen Vidineac said in a statement.
"The court's decision to exclude key evidence and demand rectification of the indictment demonstrates the lack of substantiated claims against them."
DIICOT was not immediately available for comment.
In a video posted on X, Tate said every single thing in the file was a lie and "the women lied".
In August, prosecutors said they had started a second criminal investigation against the Tates and four other suspects on accusations of forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering.
The Tate brothers also have a British arrest warrant and will be extradited after Romanian trial proceedings finish, a court ruled in March.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
