Romanian prosecutors add hate speech against women to Andrew Tate investigation

BUCHAREST, May 28 (Reuters) - Romanian prosecutors said on Thursday ​they ⁠have extended a criminal investigation into internet ​personality Andrew Tate by adding charges of instigating hatred and discrimination against women.

Tate and ​his ‌brother Tristan have been under criminal investigation on charges including human trafficking since December 2022 ⁠but the two probes have yet to make ⁠it to trial. They have ​denied all wrongdoing.

The brothers, both former kickboxers with dual U.S. and British citizenship, were initially held in police custody pending the investigation, then placed under house arrest. ​The measures ‌were later relaxed to regular check-ins with the police. In April, a Romanian court lifted all preventative judicial control measures against them.

PROSECUTORS CITE SEVERAL SPEECHES IN 2021-2024

They and four other suspects are under investigation on suspicion of ​forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with ‌a minor and money laundering.

"The anti-organized crime prosecuting unit (DIICOT) has ordered extending investigations under the charge of continued inciting to ‌hatred or discrimination," prosecutors said in a statement.

They said he instigated the public to hatred and discrimination against women through several speeches promoted on social media during ​2021 to 2024.

"DIICOT in Romania is attempting to charge me with speech violation crimes for ‌jokes I've made on my emergency meeting podcasts," Tate said on social media platform X.

"An American citizen being indicted for speech. See you in court."

The Tate ⁠brothers also ⁠have British arrest warrants pending and will be extradited ‌after Romanian trial proceedings finish, a Romanian court has ruled.

Tate faces 10 criminal charges in Britain, ​including rape, actual ​bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain, ‌the UK's Crown Prosecution Service said on Wednesday.

A self-described misogynist, Tate has gained millions of online fans by promoting an ultra-masculine lifestyle that critics say involves denigrating women. (Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by David Holmes)