BUCHAREST: Former professional kickboxer and controversial influencer Andrew Tate appeared in a Romanian court Friday following his arrest for alleged human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal group.
The move came just days after Tate had a heated Twitter exchange with Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg which Internet users speculated helped Romanian police to locate and arrest him.
Tate, who holds British and US nationality, and his brother Tristan were detained for an initial “24 hours,” a spokeswoman for a Romanian body fighting organized crime, Ramona Bolla, told AFP on Friday.
A court hearing in Bucharest to decide whether to put the four suspects — the Tate brothers and two Romanian citizens — in pre-trial detention for 30 days began at 2:00 p.m. (12:00 GMT).
Viral Twitter exchanges between Tate and Thunberg this week on subjects ranging from cars with “enormous emissions” to pizza boxes, fueled speculation on social media that the arrests followed Tate’s spats with the Swedish activist.
Internet users speculated that the brand of pizza featured in a video posted by Tate in his angry exchanges with Thunberg helped police confirm Tate’s presence in Romania.
Thunberg quipped on Twitter that “this is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes.”
“It’s not related,” spokeswoman Bolla told AFP.
“To determine whether a person is in the country or not, we use a whole range of means,” she added, stressing that “arrest warrants and searches” had already been in place.
Greta Thunberg’s spokesperson confirmed to AFP that her tweet this morning, which garnered about 1.6 million likes so far, was in fact a “joke,” adding that the Romanian authorities “have not been in touch with her.”
Since the beginning of 2021, the prosecution has been investigating the suspects and had already searched Tate’s villa in April.
According to a DIICOT statement issued Thursday, the influencer, his brother and two Romanians are suspected of “organized crimes,” “rape” and “human trafficking” in several countries.
So far six potential victims have been identified.
The suspects recruited and exploited women by coercing them into “forced labor... and pornographic acts with a view to producing and disseminating such material” online to “obtain substantial financial benefits.”
Five locations were raided across Romania as part of the investigation.
Tate appeared on the Big Brother television show in 2016, but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.
Tate, who moved to Romania several years ago with Tristan, has been banned from many social media platforms for misogynistic remarks and hate speech, but was allowed back on Twitter after Elon Musk bought the company.
Influencer Andrew Tate held in Romania for human trafficking
https://arab.news/5sqy7
Influencer Andrew Tate held in Romania for human trafficking
- The accusation against the influencers include rape and forming a criminal group
- Tate and his brother Tristan were detained for an initial 24 hours
Bondi Beach attack hero says wanted to protect ‘innocent people’
DUBAI: Bondi Beach shooting hero Ahmed Al Ahmed recalled the moment he ran toward one of the attackers and wrenched his shotgun away, saying the only thing he had in mind was to stop the assailant from “killing more innocent people.”
Al-Ahmad’s heroism was widely acclaimed in Australia when he tackled and disarmed gunman Sajid Akram who fired at Jewish people attending a Hanukkah event on December 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens.
“My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people,” he told CBS News in an interview on Monday.
“I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost.”
In footage viewed by millions of people, Al Ahmed was seen ducking between parked cars as the shooting unfolded, then wresting a gun from one of the assailants.
He was shot several times in the shoulder as a result and underwent several rounds of surgery.
“I jumped in his back, hit him and … hold him with my right hand and start to say a word like, you know, to warn him, ‘Drop your gun, stop doing what you’re doing’,” Al Ahmed said.
“I don’t want to see people killed in front of me, I don’t want to see blood, I don’t want to hear his gun, I don’t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help,” Al Ahmed told the television network.
“That’s my soul asked me to do that, and everything in my heart, and my brain, everything just worked, you know, to manage and to save the people’s life,” he said.
EXCLUSIVE: Ahmed al Ahmed, the man hailed as a hero for tackling one of the gunmen behind an antisemitic attack on Australia's Bondi Beach earlier this month, is speaking out in the aftermath of the massacre.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 28, 2025
"I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry still for the lost." pic.twitter.com/gFUfJvv7c6
Al Ahmed was at the beach getting a cup of coffee when the shooting occurred.
He is a father of two who emigrated to Australia from Syria in 2007, and works as a fruit seller.
Local media reported that the Australian government has fast-tracked and granted a number of visas for Al Ahmed’s family following his act of bravery.
“Ahmed has shown the courage and values we want in Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.
One of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.
His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody on charges including terrorism and 15 murders, as well as committing a “terrorist act” and planting a bomb with intent to harm.
(with AFP)
