Andrew Tate released from house arrest while awaiting trial on ...

Andrew Tate has been released from house arrest in Romania and placed under judicial control, a lighter restrictive measure, while he awaits trial on charges of human trafficking, after a Romanian court ruling.

Key points:Andrew Tate and the other suspects have been released for 60 daysThey can only travel within Romania's capital Bucharest and a countyThey are also banned from approaching the victims

The controversial 36-year-old internet personality was indicted in June along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

The suspects have denied the allegations.

Under Romanian law, the case is now with the Bucharest court's preliminary chamber, where a judge has 60 days to inspect the case files to ensure legality. The trial will not start until that process is completed.

On Friday, the Bucharest Court of Appeals said in a written ruling that it "replaces the house arrest measure with that of judicial control for a period of 60 days from August 4 until October 2".

Under the new measure, the four suspects can leave the house, but not the capital Bucharest and the surrounding Ilfov county.

They must also check in regularly with the police and are banned from trying to approach the victims.

"After 10 months. 3 in jail, 7 at home. After 15 million euro of asset seizures. After an inditement based on nothing. The file was passed to a Judge who has ruled it weak and circumstantial," a post on Andrew Tate's Twitter read after Friday's ruling.

If the defendants violate the terms of their judicial obligations, the court reading states, they can be returned to house arrest or preventive arrest.

The Tate brothers, who have dual US and British citizenship, have been under house arrest since April pending an investigation into abuse of seven women, who prosecutors say were lured through false claims of relationships.

They were initially held in police custody from December 29.

An ongoing court battle

Romania's anti-organised crime agency, DIICOT, had requested in June that judges extend the house-arrest measure after the agency filed its criminal investigation.

Andrew Tate, who has been accused of peddling conspiracy theories online, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.

DIICOT alleges that the four defendants formed a criminal group in 2021 to "commit the crime of human trafficking" in Romania, as well as in the United States and Britain.

Seven female victims in the case, DIICOT said, were lured with false pretences of love and transported to Romania, where the gang sexually exploited and subjected them to physical violence.

One defendant is accused of raping a woman twice in March 2022, according to the agency.

The women were allegedly controlled by "intimidation, constant surveillance" and claims they were in debt, prosecutors said.

Mr Tate, a self-described misogynist, has gained millions of fans by promoting a lifestyle which critics say denigrates women.

He was previously banned from several prominent social media platforms for expressing hate speech and misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for being sexually assaulted.

Several women in Britain also are pursuing civil claims to obtain damages from Tate, alleging they were victims of sexual violence.

Reuters/AP