Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers file legal claim alleging substandard prison conditions

Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers have filed a legal claim against New York City alleging he is receiving substandard medical treatment in unhygienic conditions while in custody at the Rikers Island jail complex.

The notice of claim – the first step in filing a lawsuit against the city – accuses the facility of failing to manage the former movie mogul’s medical conditions, which include chronic myeloid leukemia and diabetes, and negligence ranging from “freezing” conditions to a lack of clean clothes.

The city’s law department and department of correction did not immediately respond to requests for comment after the claim was filed on Tuesday.

“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,” Weinstein’s attorney, Imran H Ansari, said in a statement, comparing the facility to a “gulag”.

Weinstein, 72, has been in city custody since earlier this year after the New York court of appeals overturned his 2020 rape conviction in the state. The case is set to be retried in 2025. Weinstein has denied any wrongdoing.

Weinstein was briefly hospitalised in April and again in July for health problems. His team has said he has been treated for diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, Covid-19, and fluid on his heart and lungs.

The legal claim, which seeks $5m in damages, argues he had been returned to Rikers each time before he had fully recovered.

Weinstein’s film production company went into bankruptcy proceedings after his convictions, setting up a $17m fund for sexual misconduct claims.

Rikers Island jail is scheduled to be closed in 2027 but the city has pushed back deadlines to do so.