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Teddy teacher 'deeply sorry'
03/12/2007 11:36 - (SA)
Khartoum - A British woman jailed in Sudan for insulting religion was to be released on Monday after being granted a presidential pardon for insulting religion by naming a teddy bear after the Prophet Muhammad.
Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir signed the pardon after meeting two British Muslim peers who flew to Khartoum on a mercy mission to petition for Gillian Gibbons's early release after she was jailed for 15 days on Thursday.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed the news, saying he was "delighted and relieved" and that Gibbons would now be handed over to the British embassy in Khartoum "after what must have been a difficult ordeal".
"She was pardoned thanks to the mediation of Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi. She will be released in about an hour," said presidential advisor Mahjoub Fadl Badri as Beshir met the Muslim peers at the Republican Palace.
'All thanks to Sudan president'
Gibbons, a mother of two who had only been in Sudan a few months, was arrested eight days ago after parents at the exclusive English school, where she taught complained that she allowed young children to name the bear Muhammad.
The Muslims from Britain's upper house of parliament, thanked Sudan and all those working behind the scenes for the pardon, and conveyed apologies from Gibbons for any offence she might have unwittingly caused.
Lord Nazir Ahmed said: "In the name of Allah the compassionate and the most merciful, I would like to begin by thanking the president for granting this pardon. I want to thank everyone involved who has given help.
"As British Muslim parlementarians, we, Baroness Warsi and myself, feel proud we have been able to secure Gillian Gibbons's release.
"We hope that British aid to Sudan continues and relations between our two countries will not be damaged by this incident, in fact this should be a way to strengthen relations."
'I've enjoyed myself immensely'
Reading out a statement on the teacher's behalf, Baroness Warsi said Gibbons was deeply sorry for any offence caused and that she had great respect for Islam.
She said: "I have been in Sudan only four months but I have enjoyed myself immensely. 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'm sorry if I caused any distress," adding that she would "miss terribly" the friends she had made in Sudan.
"I'm very sad to think they have been distressed by these events. I want to express my thanks to all," Warsi added.
Beshir received the peers in a relaxed atmosphere at a plush room of the palace decorated with white gilt-upholstered sofas, a giant Sudanese flag and flowers.
There was no immediate indication of when precisely the 54-year-old teacher - being held at a secret location in Khartoum - would be released, or whether she would be making a public appearance before being deported back to Britain.
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