British Lawmakers Free Teddy Teacher

Dec. 3, 2007— -- The road to freedom for convicted British schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons was paved by Muslim members of the British Parliament, who negotiated directly with Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir for her pardon.

Gibbons, 54, was supposed to serve 15 days in prison after she was convicted of inciting hatred for allowing her class to name a teddy bear Muhammed.

Calling Gibbon's case an "unfortunate, unintentional, innocent misunderstanding," Lord Nazir Ahmed, the Muslim representative for the House of Lords, thanked President al-Bashir for granting the pardon. A British delegation including Lord Ahmed and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, both prominent Muslim members of the British Parliament, had negotiated through the weekend.

"We feel proud that we have been able to secure Gillian Gibbons release," Lord Ahmed said at a press conference in Khartoum Monday.

A spokesman for the British Embassy in Khartoum confirmed that Gibbons had been pardoned and transferred to British custody but for safety reasons would not give her whereabouts. Media reports say she is expected to arrive in the United Kingdom Tuesday.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters in London that he had spoken to Gibbons and that "she is in remarkably good spirits." Miliband also noted President al-Bashir's role in her release, saying that "common sense needed to prevail."

Muslim groups in the Britain have expressed outrage at Gibbons treatment in Sudan. In September, she allowed the 7-year-olds in her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad and was subsequently charged, convicted and sentenced to 15 days in prison and deportation.

Naming an object or entity Muhammed is offensive to Islam and a serious crime in countries like Sudan, which operates under sharia law.

"Gillian never should have been arrested in the first place, let alone held in jail," Inayat Bunglawala, the U.K.-based spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, told The Associated Press.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed Gibbons release, calling her imprisonment "completely unacceptable" and an "outrage around the world."

"This ordeal, I hope, is over," Brown told British media. "I do thank everybody who has contributed to making it possible for her to get home."

Gibbons issued a statement today apologizing, and reiterating her respect for Islam, stating she "would not knowingly offend anyone."

Friday thousands of Sudanese took to the streets over the Gibbons case, calling for a harsher sentence, with some recommending death. She could have received six months in prison and 40 lashes.

Miliband said today that Gibbons was "at worst guilty of an innocent mistake."