• Harvey Weinstein's trial opens Monday in a Manhattan court.
  • Two women accuse the producer of sexual assault. For these facts, he faces life imprisonment.
  • Recently operated on from the back, he said he would be present in New York for the opening of the trial.

It is one of the most anticipated trials of 2020. 67-year-old Harvey Weinstein will appear in Manhattan court starting Monday, January 6. Ex-film producer accused of sexual assault by two women, one - who remained anonymous - claiming he raped her in 2013, the other - a production assistant - accusing him of forced cunnilingus in 2006. The former Hollywood tycoon, catalyst of the #MeToo movement, has always claimed to be innocent and maintains that these sexual relations were consensual. He faces life imprisonment.

In addition to these two women, actress Annabella Sciorra, 59, known for her role in the famous series "The Sopranos" in the early 2000s, could testify at trial. In October 2017, she was one of the first to publicly accuse the co-founder of the Miramax studios and The Weinstein Compagny of having raped her in the winter of 1993-1994. But the latter cannot be prosecuted for those facts for which there is prescription. However, his testimony should enable the prosecution to support his case.

Agreement in principle

One who, for a long time, was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, had asked that his trial be held outside New York, in the counties of Suffolk or Albany, north of the Big Apple, for fear that the impartiality of the jury is threatened. He was particularly concerned about the consequences of media coverage of the case. However, his appeal, which was examined by five magistrates from the New York State Supreme Court's appeal chamber last October, was dismissed.

Back operated last December, following a car accident in August, Harvey Weinstein will be present for the opening of the trial, he assured a judge. From his hospital room, he gave an interview to the New York Post in which he presents himself as a pioneer in the promotion of women in the world of American cinema. "I have made more films directed by women on women than any producer," he said. Before adding: "I feel like I'm being forgotten. "

His cinematographic service "has rightly been obliterated by his horrible acts, his total incapacity to accept his responsibilities, and his action to force the survivors to accept an inadequate and derisory compensation agreement," explained Douglas Wigdor. , a lawyer who represents two accusers of the disgraced producer. Harvey Weinstein has indeed reached an agreement in principle with dozens of alleged victims. He plans to pay some $ 25 million to these women, many of whom have sued Harvey Weinstein.

New charges

If the agreement is validated by a judge, he will end the proceedings they have brought against him. Harvey Weinstein will have nothing to pay out of his pocket. The sum must be paid by the insurers of the Weinstein Company, its former studio, as well as its civil court costs. The arrangement scandalized part of the public, as did the amount of the envelope, deemed too low. Since then, Kaja Sokola, a former model who claims to have been sexually assaulted by the producer when she was 16 years old, in 2002, rejected the agreement and brought her to court.

The agreement does not, however, concern the criminal case, which will be examined during the trial which begins on January 6 in New York. In the meantime, the former producer is on probation, subject to the payment of a $ 2 million bond, the wearing of an electronic bracelet and the confiscation of his passport. He can travel to the United States, on condition of informing the justice beforehand of any displacement outside the State of New York. His trial is scheduled to last until February 9.

World

Harvey Weinstein case: Before his trial, the producer describes himself as the "pioneer" of feminism in Hollywood

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VIDEO. As a walker, Harvey Weinstein promises the judge that he will be present at his trial in January

TC with AFP