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Teddy Bear Teacher Goes Free

Posted Dec 3, 07 11:36 AM CST in World 

(Newser) – Gillian Gibbons was released today after a week behind Sudanese bars and apologized "if I have caused any distress," the Guardian reports. Though some called for her death, Gibbons wasn’t bearing a grudge. “I have encountered nothing but kindness from the Sudanese people,” she said in a statement. A spokesman for Sudan’s London embassy said protesters represented a fringe element.

“I’m sure she’ll be quite embarrassed to be on the news permanently,” said Gibbons' relieved son. But in Sudan, tension has built over the case, and “many Sudanese will see it as unfair to them,” said a government spokesman. In Britain, Muslims largely supported Gibbons, something Gordon Brown was quick to point out.

Source Guardian (UK)

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Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir talks during a press conference in Khartoum, Sudan, Monday Dec. 3, 2007, after he agreed to pardon a British teacher jailed here after she allowed her students to name...   (Associated Press)
Guardsmen changing the guard outside St James's Palace march past protesters holding placards and teddy bears outside the Sudanese Embassy in London, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007. The demonstrators were there...   (Associated Press)
Sudanese demonstrators burn a newspaper bearing the story and photo of Gillian Gibbons on its frontpage during a protest in Khartoum against the verdict handed down to the British teacher accused of insulting...   (Getty Images)
British schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons was freed today after Sudan's president pardoned her on charges of inspiring religious hatred. Gibbons allowed her class of 7-year-olds to name a teddy bear Muhammed.   (Getty Images)
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Great Britain  • Sudan  • teddy bears  • Gillian Gibbons  • Muhammad


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