Harvey Weinstein in hospital after 2020 New York rape conviction overturned

Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said the former Hollywood movie mogul has been hospitalised days after his 2020 rape conviction was overturned.

Attorney Arthur Aidala revealed Weinstein, 72, was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan for a battery of tests.

Mr Aidala added: “They examined him and sent him to Bellevue. It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically. He’s got a lot of problems.

“He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health wise.”

The New York Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that the disgraced movie producer did not receive a fair trial.

The judge permitted jurors to see and hear too much evidence not directly related to the charges he faced. It also erased his 23-year prison sentence and ordered a retrial.

The Associated Press said messages left with the hospital were not immediately returned on Saturday.

Frank Dwyer, a spokesman with the New York City Department of Correction, said only that Weinstein remains in custody at Bellevue.

Prosecutors said they intend to retry him on charges that he forcibly performed oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and raped an aspiring actor in 2013.

Weinstein remained in custody after the appeals ruling because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

For some time, Weinstein has been ailing with a variety of afflictions, including cardiac issues, diabetes, sleep apnea and eye problems.

Mr Aidala said he spoke to Weinstein on Friday afternoon after he was in transit to New York City from an upstate jail less than 24 hours after the appeals ruling, which was released Thursday morning.

He said his client’s ailments are physical, adding that mentally he is “sharp as a tack. Feet are firmly planted on the ground”.

The lawyer said it usually takes state corrections and prisons officials a week or two to arrange to transport a prisoner.

“He was not treated well. They refused to give him even a sip of water, no food, no bathroom break,” Mr Aidala said. “He’s a 72-year-old sickly man.”

Thomas Mailey, the state corrections spokesman, had no comment on Mr Aidala’s remarks about Weinstein’s alleged treatment.

Mr Aidala said he was told that Bellevue doctors planned to run a lot of tests on Weinstein before he can be returned to the Rikers Island jail complex.

The lawyer said he’s scheduled to meet with Weinstein on Monday.

Allegations made against the once powerful and feared studio boss, behind Oscar winners including Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare In Love, ushered in a global #MeToo movement in 2017.

It saw women across the world share stories of their own experiences with sexual assault.