Where was Harvey Weinstein incarcerated? Former producer’s lawyer calls jail condition “deplorable and inhumane” amid leukemia diagnosis

Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein's lawyer, Imran Ansari, was recently rushed to the hospital after an "alarming blood test result." Citing a statement made by his lawyer on Monday, December 2, 2024, Sky News wrote:

"(He) has been suffering from a lack of adequate medical care and enduring deplorable and inhumane conditions on Rikers Island, has been transported to Bellevue Hospital for emergent treatment."

He continued:

"His deprivation of care is not only medical malpractice, but a violation of his constitutional rights."

For the unversed, Weinstein's alleged misconduct started the #metoo movement (a global awareness campaign against r*pe culture and s*xual assault). At the time, the producer was convicted of third-degree r*pe of a woman and first-degree criminal s*x act against another. He was initially sentenced to 23 years in prison (served at the Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York).

However, the ruling was overturned by the New York Court of Appeals earlier this year. Harvey Weinstein has since been held at the Riker Island jail awaiting retrial.

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Last week, Harvey Weinstein's lawyers sued the city of New York, alleging deplorable conditions at Rikers Island

In October, NBC News reported that Harvey Weinstein was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (a rare type of bone marrow cancer). The news came just a month after the former producer was rushed for an emergency heart surgery after a significant amount of fluid was found in his lungs and heart.

Per the publication, in July, the producer was rushed to the Bellevue Hospital Prison after he tested positive for COVID-19 and double pneumonia.

At the time, Craig Rothfeld (Weinstein's legal healthcare representative) told NBC News that his client was being treated for "conditions that he is still afflicted with on a daily basis, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, fluid in his heart and lungs, and various other conditions."

Referencing the myriad health issues, a spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, told the AP News on Monday:

"Mr. Weinstein, who is suffering from a number of illnesses, including leukemia, has been deprived the medical attention that someone in his medical attention that someone in his medical state deserves, prisoner or not In many ways, this mistreatment constitutes cruel and unusual punishment."

On November 26, Harvey Weinstein's lawyers filed a lawsuit against New York City, accusing them of inhuman conditions and substandard medical services at the Rikers Island prison. AP News, citing Ansari's statement, where he likened the conditions to that of a "Gulag" (notorious Russian prisons), wrote:

"When I last visited him, I found him with blood spatter on his prison garb, possibly from IV’s, clothes that had not been washed for weeks, and he had not even been provided clean underwear — hardly sanitary conditions for someone with severe medical conditions."

This is not the first time the facility has been scrutinized for the mistreatment of its detainees.

According to a December 2024 article by Variety, a federal judge threatened to appoint a receiver to take control of the jail after finding an "extraordinarily high" level of violence, including fights, stabbings, assaults on guards, and poor training.

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Harvey Weinstein has denied any wrongdoing and is scheduled to appear in court on January 29, 2025.