This seems completely unjust to me.
Fair enough if they recovered the money from her student loan or via baillifs, but a girls YOI is harsher than the lads’ version, it costs more to the taxpayer to keep her there than the cost of her crime, and she will now have a criminal record including imprisonment that will affect her future permanently.
Lots of BBC staff have managed to accidentally or even deliberately trash equipment in the course of their job (including sabotage of broadcast kit over internal disputes) and they don’t go to jail..
the station in question has already been bollocked by Ofcom for not broadcasting enough Welsh language programming in an area where 64% of the population speak the language and they won the license competition on a promise that they would produce bilingual programmes…
Language protester given custody
A member of the Welsh Language Society, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, has been given five days’ custody for refusing to pay compensation to a radio station. Gwenno Teifi, 19, was previously told to pay £200 compensation to Radio Carmarthenshire after damaging equipment in a protest.
Ms Teifi, a grand-daughter of ex-Plaid Cymru president Gwynfor Evans, was sentenced by Carmarthen magistrates.
Cymdeithas said she was its first member to receive custody in 10 years.
Ms Teifi, from Llanfihangel-ar-Arth, Carmarthenshire, was initially ordered to pay compensation after taking part in the protest in July 2004.
The demonstration was over the level of Welsh-language output on Radio Carmarthenshire.
The University of Wales Aberystwyth student will serve her sentence at a young offenders’ unit in Gloucester.
On Tuesday, the day after she was sentenced, 28 students at Aberystwyth and Bangor universities said they would be going on hunger strike in her support until her release.Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/wales/4709550.stmPublished: 2006/02/14 13:18:20 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Gwrthododd Gwenno Teifi â thalu iawndal am ddifrodi cyfarpar Radio Sir Gâr
Yn ôl Cymdeithas yr Iaith, mae 27 o fyfyrwyr prifysgolion Aberystwyth a Bangor yn ymprydio a galw am ryddhau aelod.
Yn Llys Ynadon Caerfyrddin ddydd Llun cafodd Gwenno Teifi bum diwrnod o garchar.
Roedd y fenyw 19-oed o Lanfihangel-ar-Arth ger Llandysul wedi gwrthod talu £200 o iawndal i Radio Sir Gâr wedi i gyfarpar gael ei ddifrodi adeg protest yng Nghorffennaf 2004.
Gwenno yw wyres Gwynfor Evans a hi, meddai’r mudiad, yw’r aelod cyntaf i gael ei garcharu ers mwy na 10 mlynedd. Cafodd Sioned Elin ei charcharu yn 1995.
Myfyrwraig flwyddyn gyntaf yw Gwenno yng Ngholeg Prifysgol Cymru, Aberystwyth, ac yn Ebrill 2005 fe’i cafwyd yn euog gan Ynadon Hwlffordd o achosi difrod i eiddo Radio Sir Gâr yn Arberth.
Mae mewn uned troseddwyr ifanc yn Wooton under Edge, Sir Gaerloyw.
Cafodd yr achos ei ohirio yn Ionawr am nad oedd modd cynnal yr achos trwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg.
‘Dim cais’
Roedd yr ynadon wedi dweud nad oedd cais wedi ei wneud i’w gynnal yn y Gymraeg.
Dadleuodd yr ymgyrchwyr ar y pryd y dylai pob achos gael ei gynnal yn y Gymraeg mewn ardal fel Sir Gâr oni bai fod cais penodol i gael achos Saesneg.
Wrth ymateb, dywedodd Gwasanaeth y Llysoedd mai ei bolisi oedd “darparu gwasanaeth yn y Gymraeg a’r Saesneg yn holl lysoedd Cymru”.
“Roedd y broblem a gododd yn Llys Ynadon Caerfyrddin yn un weithredol ac nid un yn ymwneud â pholisi,” meddai’r datganiad.
“… nid yw pob ynad neu aelod o staff y llys yn ddwyieithog ac felly mae’n rhaid i ni geisio adnabod achosion ymlaen llaw neu ymdrin â nhw orau y gallwn pan maen nhw’n codi.
“Yn yr achos penodol hwn doedd yr ynadon ddim yn teimlo fod eu Cymraeg yn ddigon da i ymdrin gyda’r mater ac felly fe benderfynon nhw ohirio’r achos i ddyddiad lle bydd Mainc ar gael gyda phawb yn siarad Cymraeg.”
