Harvey Weinstein has been hospitalised just days after his 2020 rape conviction in New York was overturned, according to his lawyer, Arthur Aidala.
Aidala stated that Weinstein was transferred to a Manhattan hospital on Friday due to health issues. Weinstein remains in jail after being separately convicted of rape in Los Angeles.
Aidala expressed concern about Weinstein’s health, describing him as “somewhat of a train wreck health-wise” and indicating that he requires significant medical assistance. Later, Aidala revealed that Weinstein was taken to the hospital after the New York City Department of Correction deemed it necessary for him to receive “immediate medical attention.”
Weinstein is undergoing various tests and is being kept under observation at Bellevue Hospital, according to Aidala.
Weinstein, who had been held at the Mohawk Correctional Facility since 2023, was moved to the Rikers Island jail complex on Friday. His lawyers have previously disclosed his health issues, including diabetes, sleep apnea, and heart and eye problems. In 2020, he spent five days in the hospital due to ongoing heart problems and chest pains.
Aidala mentioned that he is scheduled to meet Weinstein on Monday ahead of his court appearance on Wednesday.
This development follows the New York Court of Appeals’ decision earlier in the week to overturn Weinstein’s conviction, citing an unfair trial. The court ruled that prosecutors called witnesses whose accusations were not part of the charges against him, leading to an order for a new trial.
Weinstein’s 2020 trial resulted in a conviction for sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress, in 2013. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison. His defence team argued that the encounters were consensual.
Additionally, Weinstein was sentenced in California last year to 16 years for raping an Italian model and actress in a Beverly Hills hotel in 2013.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuez
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