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Over a week after Vybz Kartel’s Turkish fiancé, Sidem Öztürk revealed that they were getting married, junior national security minister Zavia Mayne has reiterated that the Life Sweet deejay is not getting preferential treatment as he continues to serve a life sentence.

Mayne was speaking on the status of the 46-year-old Worl’ Boss—who is currently an appellant before the UK Privy Council to have his murder conviction overturned.

“As it now stands, he is an individual that has been convicted through the judicial and justice system. He has, at the first instance in the Supreme Court, [been] tried and found guilty. He has appealed and the Court of Appeal has affirmed the ruling of the court below. There is absolutely no reason to treat him specially,” said Mayne, according to the Jamaica Star.

After the Fox5 New York interview with Lisa Evers, on September 27, Kartel was transferred to the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre, known as GP, during heavy rainfalls. His attorney Isat Buchanan had publicly condemned the move, citing that it put the entertainer’s life at risk considering his health issues. 

Ozturk told Evers that she and Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Azim Palmer, got engaged in the summer of 2022 during an authorized prison visit.

Mayne was asked whether or not the government was aware of Kartel’s engagement.

“I am absolutely in no position to confirm. The best person to confirm would be Mr Kartel, but guess what? Where he is now he can’t help you,” he said. Mayne, however, noted he has “heard rumours” of illegal recordings and that contraband within the prison system continues to be an issue for the Holness administration.

“…What we do know is that the position of prohibited articles, items, within our correctional facilities has been a challenge for us, and that is something that the Government has taken a keynote of, and we are aggressively pursuing solutions for same,” he told the Star.

Kartel has released hundreds of recordings and eight albums since he was incarcerated in September 2011.  His recently released 7-track EP titled True Religion is said to be dedicated to his new fiancé.

In a 2020 interview with Billboard, Kartel sidestepped the question about how he manages to release so much new music from prison.

“Many people say YES! VYBZ IS RECORDING IN PRISON!! But where’s the proof? But this is Jamaica where you don’t need proof to imprison someone. For the record, I’m not authorized to answer such ‘above pay grade’ questions so I’ll say, ‘a tree fell in the forest and no one was there to hear it,” he said at the time.

In March 2020, following the release of his To Tanesha album, officials of the Department of Correctional Services had said actions would be taken against Kartel after what they described as “contraband” was found in his cell.  

• Troy Anthony was born in the little island of Bermuda where his love for reggae music began to develop at the age of ten. He started out around the house listening to old greats like Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Third World, and many others. When asked why reggae stood out to him, he replied, "reggae is the only music that I could relate to that reflects my island roots, and in my opinion, the only music that has such powerful heartfelt messages to complement the rough but sweet sound." At the age of eighteen, his love for singing began to grow as he would practice often, experimenting with different vocal ranges and styles. At the age of 21, Troy Anthony had an experience that would change his life forever. On the night of his twenty-first birthday, he and some friends were in a terrible car crash that would claim the life of a close friend who was also celebrating his birthday that night. This tragic event pushed the ambitious singer to start writing songs expressing his inner thoughts with conscious lyrics. He went a step further and began recording and getting air play on the local stations and was approached by the island's top promoter who asked him to open a few shows featuring artist like Luciano, Morgan Heritage, Sizzla, Anthony B., and Mikey General to name a few. This experience inspired him and he knew it was his place to be a reggae artist. But still trying to cope with the death of his friend the singer began seeking answers to questions that only God could solve. In January of 1999, his questions were answered in a little church on the same street that claimed his friend's life. Now a Christian husband and father of two, he is today more determined than ever to bring to the people good music with a strong message of encouragement,