Press Releases & Updates 2001

Jenny Gaiawyn, a marine biology student in her early twenties at Bangor University, was found guilty on 5th November of a breach of the peace for her part in the blockade. Sentence was deferred for social enquiry reports and today Sheriff Morag Galbraith sentenced her to three months in prison. Jenny told the court that the Scottish court system was "arrogant and petty-minded" but she was not charged with Contempt of Court for that remark, which could have explained at least some of the heavy sentence.

Tommy Sheridan said: "This is a dammed disgrace. People guilty of threatening life and limb end up with less of a sentence and yet a woman willing to fight for peace is punished by a court system which is increasingly discredited and out of control." Tommy will ask Justice Minister Jim Wallace to set up an enquiry into the case.

Norman Shanks said: "This harsh sentence is out of all proportion to the nature of the offence and is inconsistent with sentencing patterns hitherto. The Sheriff unfortunately appears to be lacking in the wisdom and insight of some of her colleagues who are able to see the inappropriateness of Breach of the Peace charges and normal sentencing in the case of protests against Trident."

Dr. Caroline Lucas, who was herself fined £150 last week on the same charge, said: "The 3-month prison sentence handed down to Jenny Gaiawyn today is an outrageous attack on her human rights, and a scandalous reflection of the arbitrariness of Scottish law. The right to peacefully protest is a fundamental human right, enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, and it should be upheld in law. The sheer absurdity of this sentence is demonstrated by comparing it to other sentences handed down in recent months for the same offence - one person has been acquitted, most others have received relatively low fines. When the law is administered in such an arbitrary way, it makes a mockery of the legal system. Coming in the same week as we have heard about the disproportionate number of women in British jails, this sentence also shows a complete lack of proper judgement."

There is a possibility that Jenny could be released on appeal. Meanwhile you can write to her at:

HMP Cornton Vale

Cornton Road

Stirling, FK9 5NY

The following letter has been sent to the press by Tommy Sheridan MSP and Caroline Lucas MEP.

Sir,

We are writing to express our utter disgust at the 3-month prison sentence handed down to Jenny Gaiawyn today, a marine biology student in her twenties at Bangor University who was found guilty of a breach of the peace at the February blockade of Faslane nuclear base.

This sentence is an outrageous attack on her human rights and a scandalous reflection of the arbitrariness of Scottish law. The right to peacefully protest is a fundamental human right, enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, and it should be upheld in law.

The sheer absurdity of this sentence is demonstrated by comparing it to other sentences handed down in recent months for the same offence - like ourselves for instance, one of us was acquitted, while the other was fined £150. When the law is administered in such an arbitrary way, it makes a mockery of the legal system. People guilty of threatening life and limb end up with less of a sentence and yet a woman willing to fight for peace is punished by a court system which is increasingly discredited and out of control.

Coming in the same week as we have heard about the disproportionate number of women in British and Scottish jails, this sentence shows a complete lack of proper judgement. Through our respective Parliaments we intend to raise these inconsistencies at the highest level and in the case of Scotland, I will ask Justice Minister Jim Wallace to set up an enquiry into the case.

Let us remember that nuclear weapons such as those based at Faslane are indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction. We find it inspiring that our young citizens wish to make use of their human right to protest peacefully in such a worthwhile cause and degrading that our legal system chooses to condemn them to such arbitrary and heavy sentencing.

TOMMY SHERIDAN MSP

CAROLINE LUCAS MEP

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