A British teacher jailed after she allowed her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad was released Monday hours after Sudan's president pardoned her, a British embassy spokesman said.
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| Khartoum protesters demand death for teddy teacher / AFP |
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Thousands march in Sudanese capital calling for execution of British teacher who allowed her first grade students to call their class teddy bear 'Muhammad' |
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Spokesman Omar Daair said Gillian Gibbons was in "British embassy custody," but he would not give her exact location or say when she would leave Sudan, citing security reasons.
Earlier Monday, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir pardoned Gibbons after two British Muslim politicians from the House of Lords met with him to plea for her release. The pardon put an end to a case that has outraged Britons and Muslims around the world.
In a statement released after her pardon, Gibbons said she did not intend to offend anyone and stressed that she had great respect for Islam.
Lord Nazir Ahmed, who met with al-Bashir along with Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, said the case was an "unfortunate misunderstanding" and stressed that Britain respected Islam.
He hoped "the relations between our two countries will not be damaged by this incident," Ahmed told reporters at the presidential palace after Monday's meeting. Ghazi Saladdin, a senior presidential adviser, said al-Bashir insisted that Gibbons had a "fair trial," but he agreed to pardon her because of the efforts by the British Muslim delegation.
It was unclear when Gibbons would leave Sudan. Earlier Monday, Sudanese presidential spokesman Mahzoub Faidul told The Associated Press that Gibbons would "fly back to England today." However, travel agents in Sudan said the earliest European-bound flights would not leave Khartoum until the early hours on Tuesday.
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