New York, New York - Harvey Weinstein's lawyers asked Wednesday he be allowed to spend the night in the hospital during his retrial on rape charges, saying the movie mogul's health was deteriorating rapidly because of "mistreatment" in New York's notorious Rikers prison.

In papers filed with the court, a lawyer said 73-year-old Weinstein had received lacking care in prison while suffering from a number of "serious medical conditions," including leukemia, diabetes, thyroid problems, obesity, back pain, sciatica, and other health woes.

"He is consistently mistreated for serious infections, medication is given incorrectly, or not at all, he is experiencing unhealthy and atypical weight gain, and he is forced to endure freezing temperatures while not even being provided clean clothing," said lawyer Imran Ansari.

All this justifies transferring Weinstein for observation to Bellevue Hospital, where he has already been taken in recent months for urgent health care, the attorney said.

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Weinstein is back in court because his 2020 conviction by a jury was overturned last year by an appeals court that ruled that the way witnesses were handled in the original New York trial was unlawful.

The voiding of the jury's verdict by the New York Court of Appeals was a setback to survivors of the #MeToo movement against sexual violence and the promotion of justice for them.

Looking feeble, Weinstein is attending the retrial from a wheelchair, and his lawyers have complained repeatedly that in prison, he does not get proper medical care.

Situated in the East River between the Bronx and Queens boroughs, Rikers Island prison has long had a reputation for overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and violence.

High-profile prisoners have included John Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman, rapper Tupac Shakur, Sex Pistols musician Sid Vicious, and ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.