Following a judicial decision, controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan were transferred from custody to house arrest last night.
The most recent period of imprisonment, which was scheduled to end on April 29, has been replaced by the Court of Appeal’s decision in Bucharest.
Georgiana Naghel and Luana Radu, two coworkers, are also being released.
Unless they obtain legal authority to leave, all four of them have been told to remain in the residences.
Mr. Tate’s attorneys contend that placing him in preventive detention is overly severe because there are other legal options, such as home arrest, that can be used instead.
The Tate brothers were “ecstatic,” a spokesman for the family told the BBC.
The brothers have been held since December, and they are currently under investigation for rape, human trafficking, and organised crime. Each has refuted any misconduct.
The BBC obtained court documents that detailed testimony from alleged victims who claimed they were coerced into working for €10,000 (£8,800) a month on social media sites under the threat of physical harm.
In court documents, it was said that using debts as “a form of psychological coercion”
Since the start of the investigations in April of last year, six women have been named as victims by the prosecution, but no charges have been made yet.
As a result of his comments that women should “carry responsibility” for being sexually assaulted, he later gained prominence online and was banned from Twitter. He was later given a second chance.
Despite social media bans, he became extremely popular online, especially among young males, by promoting what he portrayed as an extremely opulent and hyper-masculine lifestyle.
The New Feminist now asks, what does this mean for the safety of both women and young men online?
