Andrew Tate has detention extended for third time

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been held in detention in Romania since December on rape and human trafficking charges

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have had their custody in Romania extended for a third time, and will remain in detention until at least the end of March.

The pair were arrested in December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group.

Both men have denied any wrongdoing.

Their detention had previously been upheld until 27 February, and has now been extended for another 30 days.

Two Romanian women being held with the brothers - Georgiana Naghel and Luana Radu - will be released from custody and instead kept under house arrest.

Prosecutors applied for the latest extension earlier on Tuesday. Judges had justified the previous extension by citing the capacity of "the defendants to exercise permanent psychological control over the victims".

Last week BBC reported that the Tate brothers threatened legal action against at least one woman making rape and human trafficking claims against him. In a "cease-and-desist" letter sent by a US lawyer on their behalf, the pair threatened to sue the woman and her parents for $300m (£249m) if she did not retract her statements.

Speaking after today's extension application was filed, lawyers for the Tates told journalists that no new evidence was presented at the hearing, and that the prosecutors' case did not support the brothers' continued detention.

A legal adviser for the brothers told the BBC last week that they would challenge any decision to keep them in custody beyond next Monday. Asked how the brothers were responding to their continued detention, she replied that it was "very challenging".

Mr Tate, a former kickboxer, rose to fame in 2016 when he was removed from British TV show Big Brother over a video which appeared to show him attacking a woman.

He went on to gain notoriety online, with Twitter banning him for saying women should "bear responsibility" for being sexually assaulted. He has since been reinstated.

Despite social media bans he gained popularity, particularly among young men, by promoting what he presented as a hyper-masculine, ultra-luxurious lifestyle.