Gillian Gibbons

8 Stories

Teddy Teacher Spurs UK to Kill Own Blasphemy Law

House of Lords strikes down statute questioned since Sudan teddy-bear case

(Newser) - Britain's House of Lords voted yesterday to abolish blasphemy laws after an international incident sparked debate over secularism and tradition, the Los Angeles Times reports. With the UK and Sudan at odds in November over the prosecution of a British teacher allowing students to name a teddy bear Mohammad, many...

Teddy Bear Teacher Tells Her Own Tale

Gibbons doesn't regret going to Sudan, blames herself for ordeal

(Newser) - "I had no idea at all that I'd done something wrong," Gillian Gibbons tells the Guardian in an interview about her incarceration in Sudan for letting her class name a teddy bear Mohammed. But the teacher's ordeal hasn't soured her on Khartoum, which she calls a "wonderful...

'Terrified' Teddy Bear Teacher Happy to Be Home

Shocked adventure-seeker got 'more than I bargained for'

(Newser) - Safely home after a "terrifying" ordeal in a Sudanese jail for allowing a class Teddy bear to be named Muhammad, teacher Gillian Gibbons was delighted to be back with family today. "I went out there to have a bit of an adventure and I got more than I...

Teddy Bear Teacher Goes Free
Teddy Bear Teacher
Goes Free

Teddy Bear Teacher Goes Free

Amid protests over pardon, educator to head home to UK

(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...

'Muhammad' Teddy Bear Teacher Wins Pardon

Brit lords mediated; she'll be free today

(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...

Armed Mob Wants British Teacher Dead
Armed Mob Wants British Teacher Dead

Armed Mob Wants British Teacher Dead

Teddy bear case turns uglier as thousands protest in Khartoum

(Newser) - An armed mob thousands strong protested in front of the presidential palace in Khartoum today, demanding the execution of the British teacher who allowed her students to name a teddy bear "Mohammed." Meanwhile, Britain's first Muslim MP is flying to Sudan to push for the teacher's early release,...

Sudan Will Jail, Deport Teddy Bear Teacher
Sudan Will Jail, Deport Teddy Bear Teacher
UPDATED

Sudan Will Jail, Deport Teddy Bear Teacher

Gibbons gets 15 days and the boot for bear named 'Muhammad'

(Newser) - A Sudanese court sentenced British schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons to 15 days in prison and deportation from Sudan for inciting religious hatred by allowing her students to name a class teddy bear Muhammad, the Guardian reports. The sentence represented something of a success for British officials, who had said they would...

UK Works to Free Teacher in Teddy Bear Flap

Brown: Embassy is 'giving all appropriate consular assistance'

(Newser) - Gordon Brown said today that UK officials are working to free the British citizen being held in Sudan for allowing her students to name a teddy bear "Mohammed." Gillian Gibbons was accused of blasphemy and faces prison time or 40 lashes. The British embassy in Khartoum is "...

8 Stories