(Los Angeles) One of Harvey Weinstein’s main accusers announced Friday that she plans to testify again in court, in the event of a new trial of the former Hollywood star producer, one of whom convictions for rape and sexual assault have just been overturned.
This turnaround by the New York Court of Appeal “made me sick,” confided Mimi Haleyi, a key figure in the 2020 trial, at the end of which Mr. Weinstein received 23 years of imprisonment.
During a testimony interspersed with sobs, this ex-production assistant recounted how the producer had pinned him on a bed, before removing his tampon and imposing cunnilingus on him, despite his repeated refusals.
A traumatic story that she could be forced to repeat in the – probable – event of a new trial.
PHOTO GABRIELA BHASKAR, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Mimi Haleyi
“I definitely don’t want to go through that again, but to move on and do what’s right […] I would think about it,” explained M.me Haleyi at a press conference.
This choice is far from simple, she stressed.
People really don’t know what I had to go through and what other women had to go through. It’s exhausting, it’s hard. […] We live in fear for years […] and then we get harassed.
Mimi Haleyi
“I have to take a minute to think about it,” she admitted.
But the overturning of Mr. Weinstein’s conviction “is a crucial moment in history,” she said. “We must continue to move forward and defend the truth. »
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers have always believed that the producer did not have the right to a fair trial in New York: the prosecution was based on only two alleged victims, but several other women had testified without being directly involved in the prosecution.
The court of appeal agreed with them on Thursday, finding that these testimonies had been admitted “erroneously”.
“The solution to these shocking errors is a new trial,” said the appeal judges.
This decision is a major setback for the #metoo movement, which exploded in 2017 with the freeing of dozens of women to speak out against Mr. Weinstein.
In the event of a new trial, the producer should be sentenced again, estimated Mme Haleyi.
“The truth doesn’t change,” she insisted. “The evidence is still there, so I don’t see why it would lead to a different result. »
Mr. Weinstein remains behind bars regardless, as he was sentenced to 16 years in prison during a second trial in Los Angeles.
Since 2017, dozens of women, including Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, have accused him of harassment, sexual assault or rape. But the statute of limitations has passed in many of these cases.