Our Jamaica
Kartel’s jailhouse interview matches COVID attention
Published:Tuesday | August 24, 2021 | 7:26 AMA Digital Integration & Marketing production
Whether imprisoned or not, Adidja Palmer, popularly known as Vybz Kartel finds ways to make headlines. Last week, the artiste, who has been serving a life sentence for murder, shocked authorities by conducting an interview with overseas media from a telephone inside prison. The act brought a long-held rumour that Kartel has been in contact with the outside world via cell phone and that authorities must be complicit in his ability to continuously be doing so.
Published August 20, 2021
‘Aren’t people dying from COVID?’
Kartel’s lawyer says more important matters to probe than client’s Fox5 jailhouse interview
Yasmine Peru/ Senior Gleaner Writer
ISAT BUCHANAN, the tough-talking lawyer representing dancehall artiste Adijah ‘Vybz Kartel’ Palmer is taking no prisoners as it relates to any talk of a probe regarding a recent bombshell jailhouse interview with his client.
The first of a two-part exclusive interview that was conducted by Lisa Evers of America’s Fox5 News aired last Wednesday, with a promise for Part 2 on Thursday evening.
Amid allegations of a probe, which could see prison authorities in the hot seat, facing a myriad questions about how a prisoner could have access to phones in their cells and contact the outside world for a full-length interview, Buchanan is not denying that the voice on the tape was Kartel’s, but he is adamant that there are more important things to ponder.
His initial response to questions about the purpose of the probe was: “I have no knowledge of a probe. And the best person to ask is the security minister with portfolio for probing.”
However, he also asked: “Aren’t people dying from COVID? Aren’t people refusing to take [the COVID-19] vaccines? Aren’t people poor in this country?”
“They need to probe that,” Buchanan told The Gleaner bluntly.
Jamaica has so far recorded 1,342 COVID deaths and a total of 59,932 cases.
During the interview with
Evers, which was titled ‘ Vybz Kartel: His Fight for Freedom’, the self-proclaimed Worl’ Boss spoke about prison life, described his cell in detail, and noted that he was in a good place mentally and anticipating his release.
“Yeah, because I was sick for a few years, so definitely, I’m recovering physically, but mentally, I’ve always been in a good place because I know I’m innocent, and I know I’m coming out,” Kartel told Evers during the telephone interview that has since gone viral.
Kartel’s attorney said that the interview was conducted while the artiste was being housed at a previous prison.
“My instructions are that the interview was done while at the Spanish Town facility. He was moved to Horizon shortly after.
He is now housed at Horizon in a secure facility with state-of-the-art technology as stated by the minister of national security,” Buchanan said.
On June 21 this year, it was reported that Vybz Kartel had been transferred from the St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre to the Horizon Remand Centre in Kingston. “Kartel has been moved from Spanish Town to Horizon Remand,” Buchanan was quoted as saying at the time.
Speculation was rife that Kartel’s transfer was part of the Government’s plans to move high-value criminals to the 24 newly constructed cells at Horizon Remand to inhibit access to their cell phones.
Buchanan added that he had“no knowledge of the inner workings of the prison” and described the current situation as “much ado about nothing”.
Vybz Kartel is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. Following an appeal that was thrown out in 2020, his legal team was granted permission to appeal to the United Kingdom-based Privy Council.
Buchanan told The Gleaner that there was “nothing new on the case”.
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