Harvey Weinstein taken to hospital for emergency heart surgery
Disgraced former film producer Harvey Weinstein has been taken from prison to hospital for emergency heart surgery, a spokesperson for his lawyer said.
The 72-year-old was taken to the hospital from the Rikers Island jail in New York, where he is being held in custody.
Weinstein's legal representative, Craig Rothfield, told ITV News that Weinstein was taken to hospital on Sunday night and underwent a procedure on his heart on Monday.
Mr Rothfield confirmed Weinstein is out of surgery and in recovery.
He added: "As we have extensively stated before, Mr Weinstein suffers a plethora of significant health issues that need ongoing treatment."
Weinstein is serving a prison sentence following a rape and sexual misconduct conviction in Los Angeles related to an incident in 2013 where he appeared uninvited in a woman’s hotel room during a Los Angeles film festival.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in February 2023.
He is currently in custody in Rikers Island jail complex while awaiting a retrial in Manhattan after a 2020 conviction for rape was overturned earlier this year in a majority decision from the Court of Appeal in New York.
In July, Weinstein was treated in hospital after being diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs, and Covid.
Last week, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the UK said it had discontinued its indecent assault case against Weinstein, saying “there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction”.
The former Hollywood film producer was facing two criminal charges of alleged indecent assault against a woman, who is now aged in her 50s, in London in 1996.
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