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Gibbons 'in good spirits'
01/12/2007 18:41 - (SA)
Khartoum - Two Muslim members of Britain's House of Lords on a mercy mission to Sudan met with jailed British teacher Gillian Gibbons at a secret location in Khartoum on Saturday and said she was in good spirits.
Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi, from the upper house of Britain's parliament, arrived in Khartoum on Saturday and met with Gibbons who was jailed for 15 days on Thursday for allowing students to name a teddy bear Muhammed.
The meeting came the day after thousands demonstrated in Khartoum against what they said was a lenient sentence, with some calling for her death.
Gibbons was jailed and ordered to be expelled for allowing pupils in her class of seven- and eight-year-olds to give the bear the same name as the Muslim prophet, as part of a school project.
The prospect of the mother of two, who was arrested on November 25, facing a maximum sentence of 40 lashes, six months in jail and a fine, sparked outrage in Britain.
Warsi, a member of the Conservatives shadow cabinet, told Britain's Sky News television by telephone that "Gillian was surprisingly in good spirits ... She was actually in good humour. She was telling jokes."
She said Sudan's Islamist-led government "wants to resolve this matter ... Clearly they are under pressure from many quarters here in Sudan".
British Foreign Secretary David Milliband again telephoned his counterpart, acting foreign minister Ahmed Karti, to express London's "deep concern".
He said Gibbons had been transferred to a "more comfortable and secure environment" where the peers met with her for an hour and a half.
Before meeting the teacher, the pair met with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Sumani al-Wassila and told him they were seeking amnesty for Gibbons, a source close to the government said.
Wassila said the peers were "also representing the Muslim community of Britain" where many of the faithful have been dismayed by the teacher's jailing and by Friday's angry demonstration.
A Sudanese government source said it was unlikely the two would meet President Omar al-Beshir on Saturday as he had previous engagements.
The spokesperson for the Sudanese embassy in London blamed the Khartoum demonstrations after Friday prayers on members of "hardline" mosques.
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