Jamaican Dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel, real name Adidja Palmer, final appeal to freedom is imminent!
Kartel’s UK Privy Council final appeal will start on Valentine’s Day.
The two-day hearing will start this week in the United Kingdom and at the center of the appeal are Adidja ‘Vybz Kartel’ Palmer, with co-accused Shawn ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell, Kahira Jones , and Andre St John.
The trial will be streamed live from the website court. In the box below all the instructions to live stream it.
HOW TO WATCH VYBZ KARTEL UK PRIVY COUNCIL APPEAL HEARING
Vybz Kartel’s FINAL APPEAL HEARING in London will be live streamed Wed 2/14 & Thurs 2/15 on their website jcpc.uk or click here February 14 at 10.30 am UK time or click here where the live stream is going on pon Youtube.
Go to the website, look for section “Court sittings.” Just below pic of building, click on “View all JCPC sittings.” The calendar will pop up. If you do not see Feb 14, go down to 2023/24 Legal Year & click on “View sittings for Hilary term 2024” & you will see the date: Wed Feb14 “Shawn Campbell & 3 others.Click on that link to be part of history
The Facts Regarding Vybz Kartel’s UK Privy Council Hearing Appeal
Vybz Kartel and co-accused case will be heard by Lord Reed, Lord Lloyd-Jones, Lord Briggs, Lord Burrows, and Lady Simler of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. A nine-member team, comprising Bert Samuels, Bianca Samuels, John Clarke, Linda Hudson, Isat Buchanan, and four other overseas-based attorneys will face the committee.
The UK Privy Council’s website outlines the facts surrounding Kartel’s and co-accused reason for appealing as follows:
After a trial lasting 64 days (the longest trial in Jamaican’s history) before the trial judge and a jury in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston, Jamaica, the appellants were convicted of Mr Williams’ murder.
The prosecution’s case was that the appellants murdered Mr Williams (Lizard) on 16 August 2011 after he failed to return two unlicensed firearms which the second appellant, Mr Palmer, had given him for safekeeping. Mr Williams was not seen or heard from after that date, and his body has never been found.
The police took the appellants into custody on 30 September 2011 and seized their cellular telephones.
The prosecution relied heavily on evidence derived from these phones, which was taken from a copy of a CD rom provided by Digicel (a telecommunications provider in Jamaica) in response to a police request. At the trial, the appellants challenged the admissibility of this telecommunications evidence.
They argued that the police request to Digicel and Digicel’s provision of data to the police were carried out in breach of the Interception of Communications Act.
Further, the evidence had been obtained in breach of the fundamental right to the protection of privacy of communication guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms contained in the Jamaican Constitution. However, the trial judge ruled that the telecommunications evidence was admissible.
During the trial, the judge became aware of an allegation that a juror had attempted to bribe others by offering $500,000 JMD for a particular outcome. After investigating the allegation and considering it with counsel for both the prosecution and the defense, the presiding judge decided that the trial should proceed anyway without discharging the jury or the particular juror said to have offered the bribes.
On March 13th 2014 the jury returned and did not reach an unanimous verdict until later on that day when the jury returned, and by a majority of 10 to 1, convicted the appellants of the murder of Mr Williams. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appellants’ appeal against conviction. The appellants now appeal to His Majesty in Council.
Vybz Kartel’s & Co-accused Legal Team
Vybz Kartel’s main attorney, Isat Buchanan, is already in England, where he has joined the other members of the legal team representing World Boss, and the other three appellants, that have been granted an expedited hearing on humanitarian grounds. “Kartel’s health played a significant role” in the hearing being expedited. It was originally set for April this year.
Vybz Kartel has now being behind bars for more than 12 years and half, and he is suffering from Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder which he has reportedly been battling for seven years as well as two different heart conditions.
A nine-member team, comprising Bert Samuels, Bianca Samuels, John Clarke, Linda Hudson, Buchanan and four other overseas-based attorneys, will face the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which is the highest court of appeal for many Commonwealth countries, including Jamaica.
Talking with the Jamaican press Isat explained that Vybz Kartel and his three co-accused will not be required to speak during the appeal, as everything is up to the legal team, explaining:
“The appellants are in prison. They will not appear via video link. The team appears on their behalf,” Buchanan said.
“The four appellants are looking at freedom,” “Vybz Kartel is being treated as best in the circumstances but needs proper treatment,” Buchanan said during a brief interview this past Sunday.
“I believe in the Jamaican Constitution, it is the last instrument in existence that restores humanity in Jamaica. That speaks for itself.”
