Vybz Kartel battling life-threatening illness in prison, lawyer says

Jamaican dancehall artist Adidja Azim Palmer, widely known as Vybz Kartel is battling a life threatening illness that requires him to have surgery or it may lead fatal.

Kartel who is incarcerated is suffering from an autoimmune disorder known as Graves’ disease, coupled with two alleged heart conditions.

Vybz Kartel’s lawyer expressed concern about his client’s deteriorating health state, which he attributed to his 23-hour daily solitary confinement for an alleged offense involving a cell phone.

“His neck was swollen. If you think of a shirt that is about 18.5 inches in the neck area, you couldn’t close the collar on his neck, and that’s how bad it is at this moment… His face is actually swollen. And one other thing: He always wears glasses; in this condition, that causes his eyes to protrude,” Isat Buchanan, the lawyer said.

Vybz Kartel has spent more than ten years in prison after being arrested in Kingston 11 years ago for the murder of a fellow inmate. He is currently serving a life sentence.

In the months that followed his arrest, the dancehall performer was charged with two murders. In 2014, he was found guilty of killing Clive “Lizard” Williams despite having been cleared of the murder of Barrington “Bossie” Burton.