Imprisoned Harvey Weinstein: Hospitalized again

Harvey Weinstein, 72, was transferred from Rikers Island Prison to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. This is reported by his lawyer Imran H. Ansari, as writes.

Last month, the first reports emerged that the convicted sex offender was suffering from leukemia. The diagnosis has not been confirmed by his reps, but his lawyer has now said that Weinstein was taken to the clinic “for urgent treatment due to an alarming blood test result that requires immediate medical attention.” He would probably stay there “until his condition stabilizes.”

In his statement, Ansari could not avoid mentioning again the alleged poor treatment of his client in prison. He is representing Weinstein not only in his upcoming sex crimes retrial, but also in a newly filed lawsuit against the city of New York. Weinstein is seeking $5 million in damages over prison conditions. He suffers “from the lack of adequate medical care” and endures “deplorable and inhumane conditions on Rikers Island,” said Ansari.

Weinstein found himself in life-threatening situations several times because of his failure to provide assistance. “The refusal of treatment is not only a medical malpractice, but also a violation of his constitutional rights,” the lawyer emphasized.

It is the third time in just a few months that Weinstein has been hospitalized. In July he fell ill with Covid-19 and then pneumonia, and in September he had to undergo emergency heart surgery.

Former film mogul Harvey Weinstein, whose case sparked the global #MeToo debate, was convicted of sexual offenses in New York and California. In April, an appeals court overturned New York’s 2020 sentence of 23 years in prison; a new trial was originally scheduled for November. At the same time, Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison in a separate trial in Los Angeles in 2023, and he has also appealed against this verdict.