NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 3 — The British schoolteacher jailed in Sudan for allowing her 7-year-old pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad was pardoned today by Sudan’s president. She will be sent back to England later today.
Sudan’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, made the decision after a meeting this morning in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, with two Muslim peers from Britain’s House of Lords, the upper house of Parliament.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain said he was "delighted and relieved" at the news and that "common sense had prevailed,” according to the BBC.
The schoolteacher, Gillian Gibbons, was sentenced to 15 days in jail last week for insulting Islam and was supposed to be released on Dec. 10. On Friday, hundreds of angry Sudanese in Khartoum protested what they considered to be a lenient punishment. Under Sudanese law, she could have been jailed for six months and received 40 lashes.
But meanwhile, British officials put heavy pressure on Sudan to release Ms. Gibbons, 54, saying that she had made an innocent mistake in allowing her students to give a class teddy bear the same name as Islam’s holy prophet. Muhammad also happens to be one of the most common names in the Muslim world.
In a way, Mr. Bashir was caught in the middle — or at least the Sudanese government tried to make it look that way. By letting Ms. Gibbons out early, he risks provoking Muslim hardliners in his country, who are among his key supporters.
But the case hit his desk at a time when United Nations officials and Western governments are increasingly complaining that Sudan is obstructing an expanded peacekeeping force for Darfur, the war-torn region of western Sudan.
Apparently, Mr. Bashir calculated that he didn’t need to isolate his government any further.
“This was all political,” said Kamal al-Gizouli, Ms. Gibbons’ defense attorney. “The government did this to show they are tolerant. They don’t need any more problems with the world and the international media.”
According to the BBC, Ms. Gibbons issued a statement today saying she was sorry for offending Muslims.
"I have been in Sudan for only four months but I have enjoyed myself immensely,” the statement said. "I have encountered nothing but kindness and generosity from the Sudanese people. I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone and I am sorry if I caused any distress.”
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Good news indeed, now let get her back to England. I rather her go back to teaching in the Sudan, but with thousands of people calling for her death...that doesn't seem safe anymore.
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