Harvey Weinstein files complaint over 'deplorable' prison conditions
Harvey Weinstein has filed an official complaint over the "deplorable" conditions at the prison where he has been serving time with his lawyer comparing the Rikers Island facility in New York to a "gulag".
Harvey Weinstein has filed an official complaint over the "deplorable" conditions at the prison where he's been serving time.
The 72-year-old disgraced movie mogul is currently serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted on rape and sexual assault charges in Los Angeles in 2022 and awaiting a retrial after his 2020 convictions in New York for first degree criminal sexual assault and third degree rape were overturned in April - and he's now filed a claim with the Office of the NYC Comptroller alleging conditions at the Rikers Island facility where he's been held have exacerbated his medical conditions.
In a statement, Weinstein's lawyer Imran H. Ansari told TMZ.com: "Harvey Weinstein has suffered considerably from the deplorable conditions on Rikers Island ...
"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 and susceptibility to illness."
Ansari went on to compare the prison to a Soviet Union labour camp, adding: "I questioned whether I was in a prison facility that is supposed to be managed in accordance with our constitution, or a gulag where the prisoners are treated like animals."
According to TMZ, Weinstein claims to have suffered "significant and ongoing physical and psychological injuries" as well as emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life and is asking for at least $5 million in damages.
Weinstein was recently diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia and has been receiving treatment at Rikers Island. He also suffers from other issues including diabetes, coronary artery disease and problems with his thyroid.
He's also battled COVID-19 and contracted double pneumonia in his lungs with Weinstein also spending time at Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward to receive treatment for his various health complaints.
