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Harvey Weinstein has been transferred from Rikers Island to a New York City hospital after a judge approved his request to remain there during his retrial on sex crime charges.
Judge Paul Goetz late Thursday ordered that Weinstein be moved to the prison ward at Bellevue Hospital so he can receive “necessary medical treatment,” according to the Associated Press.
Goetz’s order will remain in effect until next Thursday, with a hearing scheduled to further discuss the matter, AP reported.
“Harvey Weinstein is pleased with the Court’s Order directing the City to transfer him from Rikers Island to Bellevue Hospital so he can receive the medical treatment he needs as he begins his trial. It is without question that Rikers Island is the prime example of a deficient and dangerous prison,” Imran H. Ansari, an attorney for Weinstein, shared in a statement with Variety. “Mr. Weinstein has suffered tremendously within its walls and no human in his medical condition, no matter what they are accused of, should be treated so inhumanely and without any regard to the protections of our Constitution.”
Earlier this week, Weinstein’s legal team petitioned the court for a transfer amid jury selection, claiming that the former Hollywood producer was experiencing “unhealthy and atypical weight gain” and was “forced to endure freezing temperatures” at Rikers Island. “As a result of this mistreatment, he has been significantly worn down health-wise and now faces the added stress of trial, which could lead to serious health complications, even death,” Ansari said at the time.
Judge Curtis J. Farber, meanwhile, is presiding over Weinstein’s New York retrial. The case is scheduled to resume Monday with additional jury selection.
Weinstein, who was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer in 2024, had been imprisoned on Rikers Island. In addition to cancer, he has been treated at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan for leukemia, diabetes, coronary artery disease and sleep apnea. In September, he underwent emergency heart surgery.
In April 2024, the New York Court of Appeals overturned Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, ruling that the original trial was flawed due to the inclusion of testimony from three additional accusers who were not part of the charges. The court found these testimonies prejudicial and irrelevant to the case. As a result, the conviction was ultimately vacated, and a retrial was ordered.
