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Teddy bear trips up teacher
28/11/2007 22:08 - (SA)
Khartoum - Sudan on Wednesday charged a British school teacher with insulting Islam and inciting religious hatred by allowing young children to name a teddy bear Mohammed.
The mother of two would be flogged and jailed if convicted.
Britain swiftly announced that it was summoning the Sudanese ambassador in London for talks at the Foreign Office.
"The investigation has been completed and the Briton Gillian (Gibbons) was charged under Article 125 of the penal code," deputy Justice Minister Abdel Daim Zamrawi told Sudan's official SUNA news agency.
"The punishment for this is jail, a fine and lashes. It is up to the judge to determine the sentence," Zamrawi was quoted as saying.
Sudanese ambassador summoned
In London, a Foreign Office spokesperson said Gibbons had been charged with "insulting religion and inciting religious hatred".
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said Foreign Secretary David Miliband wanted to see the Sudanese ambassador "as a matter of urgency.
"We are surprised and disappointed by this development," a spokesperson said.
The purpose of the meeting was "so we can get a clear explanation for the rationale behind the charges and a sense of what the next steps might be. We will consider our response in the light of that."
The private school teacher, who has been moved to the criminal investigation department in Khartoum, told British consular officials who visited her on Wednesday for a second time that she was being treated well.
"Our consulate went to visit her this morning. She said she was okay and treated well," an embassy spokesperson told AFP, adding that British officials are in "close discussion with the Sudanese authorities".
Zamrawi said Gibbons was being held in good conditions and added that her relatives could visit, despite a reported complaint from her ex-husband in a British tabloid that the family had not been allowed to go to Sudan.
Being well treated
"She is in a room and she has all the necessary things. She has seen her lawyer and is brought food. She has basic rights. For us, she is innocent until her guilt has been proved... Her relatives can visit her," Zamrawi said.
Sudan's education ministry will also conduct an inquiry into the Christian-run Unity High School, where Gibbons taught since leaving England in July, to determine whether it was guilty of a cover-up, Zamrawi said.
Gibbons allowed boys and girls as young as six to name the bear Mohammed several months ago. Gibbons has said she never meant to cause offence.
For devout Muslims, any physical depiction of Mohammed is blasphemous and strictly forbidden.
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