Controversial internet personality Andrew Tate will appear in court in Romania on Wednesday as lawyers argue he should be released.

The British-American national and his brother Tristan have been held in custody since 29 December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group.

Two female Romanian suspects have also been detained.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

It’s alleged the Tate brothers recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.

Prosecutors say the women were then forced to produce pornographic content under duress.

Kickboxer turned influencer, Andrew Tate, is also accused of raping one of the victims last March. All four deny the allegations.

Earlier this month, a court extended their preventative custody period to 27 February.

Today, defence teams will try to argue that there is not enough evidence to continue to hold them.

Following the arrests, Romanian authorities said they seized goods and money worth almost £3.25m ($4m) including luxury cars.

The brothers’ legal team is also fighting for these items to be returned.

Read more:
Tate fans march in support of social media influencer
Andrew Tate: A timeline from Twitter rows to a Romanian cell

Last week, Andrew Tate made his first comments since his detention.

“They know we have done nothing wrong,” he told reporters as he was brought in for further questioning by anti-organised crime prosecutors. “This file is completely empty. Of course it’s unjust, there is no justice in Romania unfortunately.”

Famous for misogynistic content, Tate has a huge following despite being banned from most mainstream social media platforms.

His Twitter account was reinstated in November after Elon Musk took charge of the company.

Related posts:

‘For my peasant sisters and brothers’: Left-wing rural teacher becomes new president of Peru ‘No new pledges’: China announces how it will meet peaking carbon emissions by 2030 South Africa cricketer misses T20 World Cup game after refusing to take the knee Russia’s invasion of Ukraine mapped – what happened on day eight What day nine of Russia’s invasion tells us about what might happen next Philippines orders government workers to smile more – or risk being fined Japan PM blames police for assassination of Shinzo Abe Girl, 14, dies after part of rollercoaster ride ‘come off rails’ at theme park in Denmark ‘Next time send the real Mr Bean’: The bizarre feud between Zimbabwe and Pakistan ‘There is only us and them – enemies’: Ukrainians dug in trenches on Belarus and Russia frontline At least 120 dead after stampede during Halloween festivities in South Korea Woman abducted as a baby reunited with family 51 years later