KHARTOUM, Sudan – Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will meet with a British delegation on Monday to discuss a possible pardon for the teacher imprisoned in Sudan for allowing her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad.   

Gillian Gibbons was sentenced on Thursday to 15 days in jail and subsequent deportation for insulting Islam.  The following day hundreds of people protested what they viewed as a lenient sentence for a crime that can carry a punishment of up to six months in prison and 40 public lashings.  Following the demonstrations, Gibbons was transferred to a new secret location. 

The influential Council of Islamic Scholars in Sudan have protested a release of Gibbons, saying it would “wound the sensibilities of Muslims in Sudan.”  “If the government retracts this judgment … this would be a very bad precedent and it would have very bad consequences on the reputation of the state … not only in Sudan but also outside Sudan” said Council Spokesman al-Sheikh Mohammad Abdel Karim. 

For more information, please see:

International Herald Tribune – Sudan’s president to discuss possible pardon in bear-naming case – 2 December 2007

Guardian Unlimited – Teddy row peers to meet president – 2 December 2007

Christian Science Monitor – Teddy Trouble: Hopes Rise for British Teacher Jailed in Sudan – 2 December 2007

Canada.com – U.K. lawmakers to meet Sudan president over teacher – 2 December 2007