Lawyer fears for Harvey Weinstein’s health in Rikers Island jail

Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer fears he will die in jail.

Attorney Imran H. Ansari has claimed that his client, the disgraced movie mogul who was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in October, is being “completely mistreated” while incarcerated at the “torture chamber or medieval dungeon” Rikers Island jail and could die if conditions do not drastically improve.

Speaking about a recent visit he paid to Harvey, 76, Imran told The Hollywood Reporter: “He had blood spattered on him. I was shocked to see that any prisoner would be treated that way. He was totally unkempt. The clothes seemed like they were not clean or washed. And he told me he hadn’t been provided clean underwear in two weeks. It seemed like he was being completely mistreated.

“If it’s not intentional mistreatment, it’s certainly negligent mistreatment. Torture chamber or medieval dungeon; all these sorts of phrases could be applicable to Rikers. It’s just shocking to see a prison that would be run here in the United States, but even more so here in New York.”

He also speculated that Harvey could be a victim of deliberate mistreatment, due to his former Hollywood mogul status.

He said: “If somewhere behind a closed door someone is saying, ‘Let’s [deleted] Harvey over and withhold this and withhold that’ … Maybe there is a sense of vindictiveness towards him? I don’t want to be speculative, but he is certainly not just another inmate number. I’m sure everyone knows this is Harvey Weinstein. This was the guy who was living in the lap of luxury and was at the top of his game in Hollywood, and here he is now. And I don’t know if that either consciously or subconsciously feeds into some of the decisions made about his medical treatment or whether they’re going to send him to Bellevue Hospital or hold him back in Rikers and its draconian and deplorable conditions.”

Weinstein’s team is pushing for him to be held long-term at Bellevue Hospital.

A spokesperson for the New York City mayor’s office said the public hospital system works with the Department of Correction to “ensure people in custody have access to high-quality health care on Rikers Island, including individuals who have complex medical and mental health needs”.