Welsh language campaigner, Jamie Bevan was sentenced to 35 days in prison by Merthyr Tydfil magistrates this morning for refusing to pay a fine he was ordered to pay in English-only.

50 people came to support Jamie outside Merthyr Tydfil magistrate Court.

Jamie Bevan from Merthyr Tudful was prosecuted for refusing to pay a fine for his part in the campaign against cuts to S4C. He used the case to protest against the monolingual correspondence he has received from the courts.

The news comes following the news of the death of Eileen Beasley, one of the first campaigners to go to court to gain equal status for the Welsh language.

Jamie Bevan, 36 years old and father to four children, told magistrates:

"Over the last year and a half I have followed completely constitutional means in complaining about the patchy and fragmented Welsh language service from the courts and justice system. I have received apology after apology with assurances that the systems are being put in place to make sure that these so-called mistakes don't happen again. But the monolingual letters continue, the phone service with a Welsh language option which leads nowhere, and the sneering and disrespect from the courts staff, the police and the security staff.

"According to your language scheme, there is no right for a Welsh person to get a hearing in front of a Welsh language court. It says that you will try to provide a Welsh language court, but if you can't do that you will provide a translator.

"Welsh speakers are under an enormous disadvantage when receiving a court hearing through the medium of a translator as a translator cannot enable the individual to communicate directly with the judge or magistrate. Actually, many lawyers advise their clients not to choose a Welsh language court case because they recognise that disadvantage. It's a disgraceful situation in the Wales of today.

"Your language schemes also set out an employment strategy based on the area's language profile. So, employing Welsh language speakers to enable a court to provide a Welsh language service depends on the percentage of local speakers and the whim of the court manager. How can you justify the fact that a Welsh person from Merthyr gets a deficient service while someone else in another part of the country receives a better service? Welsh people in every part of Wales have a moral right to use Welsh to its fullest extent.

"I have no intention of conforming. I have no intention of paying a single penny of the fine although I can do so easily financially. Do as you please with me. I accept any result gladly."

In a statement of support agreed by Labour MP Susan Elan Jones and Plaid Cymru President Jill Evans, they both said:

"I am keen to declare my support for Jamie Bevan in his court case today in Merthyr following his actions in the campaign to save S4C. The fact that Jamie has twice received an English language summons and an English language hearing is completely unacceptable. There is a duty on the courts service to provide services in Welsh. I'm grateful that the Welsh Language Commissioner is investigating the situation. It's very important that the Commissioner shows she is able to secure rights for the people of Wales to use the Welsh language and that the 2011 Language Measure makes a positive difference to people's everyday lives."

Jamie Bevan has already been imprisoned for this protest: he broke into the constituency office of Cardiff North MP, Jonathan Evans, and sprayed a slogan on the building's wall.

Jamie addressing the crowd before his sentence.

Send a message of support in the post to:

A9459CFBEVAN, Carchar Caerdydd, 1 Ffordd Knox, CAERDYDD, CF24 0UG