Andrew Tate ‘will be locked inside dilapidated cell with bed bug-infested mattress’

Andrew Tate will likely celebrate new year’s in a cramped prison cell he can only leave for one hour a day amid a human trafficking and rape probe.

Tate, 36, was arrested on Thursday alongside his brother Tristan, 34, and two Romanian nationals and will be remanded in custody for 30 days.

The jet-setting influencer is known for his luxury gas-guzzling car collection and was even taken away in handcuffs from his high-end Bucharest villa.

But his life in one of Romania’s Detention and Preventative Arrest Centers might be slightly different from what the former kickboxer is used to.

There are dozens of the centres up and down Romania run by the country’s police force – though it is unclear where Tate has been placed in.

However, a Council of Europe investigation offers some insight into what conditions Tate is likely facing.

Detainment cells are often cramped and measure just 15 square metres with a, well, en suite bathroom – a hole-in-the-ground toilet set in an open cubicle, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment found earlier this year.

Conditions are ‘generally poor’, the report says, ‘with cells dilapidated, lacking equipment (storage space, tables and chairs), and mattresses and bedding worn out and infested with bed bugs and cockroaches’.

‘Many complaints were received about the very limited access to hot water as well as in respect of the insufficient in-cell heating in winter. 

‘Moreover, sanitary facilities were often in a poor state of repair and detained persons were not provided with appropriate quantities of detergent and hygiene products.’

It was relatively rare for prisoners to get more than an hour of outdoor time each day, with many inmates stuck behind bars for 23 hours a day.

Tate, whose Instagram is filled with photos of him sitting in private jets and standing by slick sports cars, might have to spend about an hour each day in an ‘austere and oppressive’ exercise yard.

‘The courtyards were generally equipped with exercise bars, but several lacked any means of rest,’ the committee continued, the authors concluding that most of the centres were ‘not appropriate for daily exercise and access to fresh air’.

In a 2021 report on human rights in Romania, the US State Department found that Romanian prisons are not designed for a long-term stay.

‘Such facilities were often located in basements and had no natural light and inadequate sanitation,’ department officials wrote.

On average, detained individuals stay around two months in centres, according to the Romanian government.

Tate was initially being held for 24 hours but on Friday, a Bucharest judge ordered all four parties to be held for a further 30 days – Tate’s lawyers have filed to appeal the ‘disappointing’ ruling.

An appeal’s judge could make a decision on how long Tate is detained for as soon as Monday, Eugen Vidineac, his lawyer, said.

Prosecutors say they have been investigating whether the four suspects created a criminal group last year to engage in human trafficking across Romania, the UK and the US.

Authorities said so far six victims had been identified.

Prosecutors mentioned a separate allegation of rape dating to March this year but did not specify against which suspect the allegation was raised.

Tate’s lawyers have denied the charges.

For years, Tate has sought to build an online brand as a self-described ‘misogynist’, with his website offering lessons on ‘wealth creation’ as well as selling supplements and mugs.

The former Big Brother star has made a raft of hateful comments mainly about women, such as saying women who are raped are ‘partly responsible’.

He gained relevancy in the mainstream when he sparred online with Greta Thunberg, a 19-year-old climate activist.

In response to a tweet he tagged Thunberg in bragging about his car collection and asking for her email, she tweeted back: ‘Yes, please do enlighten me.

‘Email me at smalld**kenergy@getalife.com.’

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