Controversial British influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are to be released from pre-trial detention in Romania and placed under house arrest. The Court of Appeal in Bucharest "rejected the prosecutor's proposal to extend pre-trial detention" and ordered on Friday to place the two "under house arrest," according to a court decision seen by the AFP news agency.

Andrew Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan, who is two years younger, were arrested in Romania at the end of December on charges of human trafficking, rape and founding a criminal organisation. Their victims are said to have included minors. The brothers deny the allegations.

At that time, the magistrate had justified the imprisonment of the two brothers with the risk of flight and the seriousness of the crimes they were accused of. Her pre-trial detention had been extended several times. In addition to the Tate brothers, two Romanian women are also being investigated.

Andrew Tate, who moved to Romania with his brother a few years ago, has been banned from several online services for misogynistic statements. He wrote that women who are victims of sexual assault are to blame themselves.