WOMAN WHO RILED A NATION
Brit teacher bears no grudges
December 03, 2007
THOUSANDS of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and swords and beating drums, burned her pictures and demanded her execution on Friday.
Brandishing weapons: Hardliners came out in force to protest Gillian Gibbon's jail sentence.
Many shouted: 'Kill her! Kill her by firing squad!'
But jailed British teacher Gillian Gibbons, 54, told her two children by telephone: 'I don't want any resentment towards Muslims.'
Her son, John, told AP: 'She's holding up quite well.'
Mrs Gibbons, who started working at a private school in Sudanese capital Khartoum in August,
was sentenced to 15 days in jail and deportation for insulting Islam by letting her 7-year-old students name a teddy bear Muhammad.In response to the rally in central Khartoum, she was moved from the women's prison in Oumdurman to a secret location, her chief lawyer, MrKamal al-Gizouli, said.
During his visit, MrsGibbons described how her dream of working with children in Sudan had turned into a nightmare, reported the Daily Mail.
She said: 'I still cannot believe this. Never in my life would I have ever thought I would be accused of deliberately insulting someone or something.'
She added: 'I just feel so sad. I came to Sudan looking forward to things going smoothly and safely. Now it's all over for me...'
Yesterday, two British Muslim peers, Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi, arrived in Sudan on what the British Foreign Office called a private visit, to meet with Sudanese officials and seek Mrs Gibbons' release.
Her lawyer said he expected her to get a presidential pardon following the peers' visit.
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,149504,00.html?How is naming a teddy bear Muhammad to islam?