A Sudanese court has convicted a British teacher of inciting religious hatred in Sudan by letting her class of seven-year-olds name a teddy bear Muhammad. A defense lawyer for 54-year-old Gillian Gibbons says the court sentenced Gibbons to 15 days in prison, followed by deportation from Sudan. The British Foreign Office reacted swiftly, saying it is "extremely disappointed" in the sentence. It said the Sudanese ambassador in London will be called in to explain the decision.
Gibbons was tried in a Khartoum courtroom Thursday, four days after her arrest. Witnesses say the court session lasted several hours, with the judge hearing accounts from several people involved in the case, including a school secretary, Sarah Khawad who apparently filed the initial complaint about the bear's name.
Initial reports said the complaint came from parents of students in the private Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the incident was clearly an "innocent misunderstanding." Miliband met with the Sudanese ambassador to Britain and told him Britain is "very concerned" by the case. |