Glandian, an American lawyer for the Tates, said their detention without charge for more than 30 days was a violation of international human rights law.

Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have lost their appeal and will remain in detention in Romania’s capital of Bucharest until February 27 on allegations of human trafficking, rape, and organised crime group.

A Bucharest Court of Appeal rejected the 36-year-old’s appeal against his detention on Wednesday, upholding last month’s decision by a judge to extend the brothers’ detention to February 27.

Tate and Tristan, as well as two Romanian male suspects, have been in detention since December 30 as part of a criminal investigation into claims of forming a criminal gang that stretched from Romania to Britain and the US for the purpose of human trafficking and which sexually exploited women – allegations they have both denied.

The authorities allege that two of the suspects misled victims “into believing that they intended to enter into a marriage/cohabitation relationship” while transporting them to Romania and later sexually exploiting them with physical violence and coercion.

According to prosecutors, the victims were coerced to produce pornographic content for social media sites that generated large financial gains.

Authorities also allege that one of the suspects raped a victim on two separate occasions last March. At least six victims were allegedly “sexually exploited by the organised criminal group,” Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) said in a statement.

On January 25, the brothers protested their innocence after being taken in for questioning and having their electronic devices seized for analysis.

“There’s no evidence in my file because I’ve done nothing wrong. Everybody knows I’m innocent,” Tate said, adding: “There is no justice in Romania,” as he was led into DIICOT headquarters.

The Tate’s defence lawyers have said prosecutors had no real evidence and have asked the judge to consider placing the suspects under house arrest rather than police detention.

“They asked the court for their freedom based on the lack of evidence against them and the lack of any criminal history,” Tina Glandian, a new American legal advisor hired by the Tates to help in the appeal, said, noting that their detention without charge for more than 30 days was a violation of international human rights law.

Tate, a former kickboxer, is known for his viral rants online about male dominance, female submission and wealth. He openly advocates violence against women, and had previously been banned from every major social media platform until Elon Musk reinstated his Twitter account after taking over the company.