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Journalism of Courage
The British teacher jailed after she allowed her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad was released on Monday, hours after Sudan’s President pardoned her, a British Embassy spokesman said.
The teacher, Gillian Gibbons, said she did not intend to offend anyone and had great respect for Islam. “She is in the British Embassy custody and is with the deputy British ambassador,” embassy spokesman Omar Daair said. He would not give her exact location or say when she would leave Sudan.
Gibbons was sentenced on Thursday to 15 days in prison and deportation for insulting Islam because she allowed her students to name a class teddy bear Muhammad, seen as a reference to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
The teacher’s conviction under Sudan’s Islamic Sharia law shocked Britons and many Muslims worldwide. It also inflamed passions among many Sudanese, some of whom called for her execution. Gibbons escaped harsher punishment that could have included up to 40 lashes, six months in prison and a fine.
In a written statement released by the presidential palace on Monday, Gibbons said she was sorry if she caused any “distress”.
