Kartel's case expedited... goes to Privy Council February 2024

Attorney-at-law Isat Buchanan has confirmed that an expedited date has been set and his client, Adidja 'Vybz Kartel' Palmer, will have his case heard by the Privy Council in the United Kingdom next year.

"The application for [an] expedited hearing was granted. The date is now February 14 and 15," Buchanan told The Gleaner.

In July the UK Privy Council had provided a timetable for the hearing of the appeal of Vybz Kartel and Shawn Campbell, more popularly known as Shawn Storm, as well as two other appellants. A tentative date of April 16 to 18, 2024 was revealed.

With regards to the new February date, Buchanan explained that "the application was made following Mr Palmer's medical health scare when placed in solitary confinement earlier this year".

In May this year, reports alleged that the incarcerated deejay was being treated unjustly at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in Kingston, where he is housed.

A post on an Instagram account assigned to Kartel claimed that he had been placed on a 23-hour lockdown since phones were found on the block where he was being housed. The post also said that the lockdown was affecting Kartel's health as the cell was poorly ventilated.

At the time, Buchanan had said that "should the prison officials add undue stress that may worsen his client's medical woes, it would be an infringement on his rights".

"I can only address the issue of the 23-hour lockdown in contrast to his medical condition, and those concerns. I can confirm that a claim is coming. It's not filed yet. In terms of a claim, one has to get some clarity from the court as to what is happening," Buchanan was quoted as saying.

In 2014, Kartel was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his associate Clive 'Lizard' Williams. He will be eligible for parole once he has served a minimum of 35 years in prison.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com