Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

'Muhammad' Teddy Bear Teacher Wins Pardon

Brit lords mediated; she'll be free today

By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 3, 2007 2:42 AM CST
Email

(Newser) – A teacher who was sentenced to 15 days in jail in Sudan for allowing a classroom teddy bear to be named Muhammad has won a full pardon and will be freed today, the BBC reports. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir granted the pardon to Gillian Gibbons, 54, after meeting with two British Muslim lords who traveled to Sudan to plead her case.

Her imprisonment drew international condemnation, but in Sudan religious protesters took to the streets to calls for Gibbons' death, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "delighted and relieved" at the news. Gibbons, who will be flown back to Britain upon her release, made a statement that emphasized her respect for Islam and for her Sudanese students, and apologized for any distress she may have caused.

Angry Sudanese protesters hold a newspaper carrying a photo of British teacher Gillian Gibbons, during a protest in Khartoum. The protestors called for the execution of Gibbons, who was convicted of insulting Islam for letting her students name a teddy bear Muhammad. (AP Photos/Abd Raouf)
Angry Sudanese protesters hold a newspaper carrying a photo of British teacher Gillian Gibbons, during a protest in Khartoum. The protestors called for the execution of Gibbons, who was convicted of insulting...   (Associated Press)
Gillian Gibbons
Gillian Gibbons   (Getty Images)
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a Muslim representative from Britain's House of Lords, discusses the meetings with Sudanese officials.(AP Photo/Alfred de Montesquiou)
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a Muslim representative from Britain's House of Lords, discusses the meetings with Sudanese officials.(AP Photo/Alfred de Montesquiou)   (Associated Press)
A protester holding placards and a teddy bear sits outside the Sudanese Embassy in London, Saturday Dec. 1, 2007, to protest the 15 day prison term given to British school teacher Gillian Gibbons for calling a teddy bear Mohammed in a classroom in the Sudan.(AP PHOTO/Max Nash)
A protester holding placards and a teddy bear sits outside the Sudanese Embassy in London, Saturday Dec. 1, 2007, to protest the 15 day prison term given to British school teacher Gillian Gibbons for...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

Sudanese president pardons Gillian Gibbons
CNN

Gordon Brown 'delighted' by release of Mohammed teddy bear teacher
Bloomberg

 
Islam • Sudan • Gordon Brown • Omar al Bashir • Gillian Gibbons • teacher

More Newser Stories

Teddy Teacher Spurs UK to Kill Own Blasphemy Law

Teddy Bear Teacher Tells Her Own Tale

Armed Mob Wants British Teacher Dead

UK Works to Free Teacher in Teddy Bear Flap

Sudan Says Rebel Chief Killed
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne