From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7119399.stm
UK Teacher Jailed Over Teddy Row
A British teacher has been found guilty in Sudan of insulting religion after she allowed her primary school class to name a teddy bear Muhammad.
Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, has been sentenced to 15 days in prison and will then be deported.
She had been accused on three counts of insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs.
The Foreign Office said it was extremely disappointed by the verdict. Her lawyer says she will now appeal.
The Sudanese ambassador is being called back to the Foreign Office to explain the decision.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was also "extremely disappointed" the charges had not been dismissed and repeated his view that it had been an "innocent misunderstanding by a dedicated teacher".
"Our priority now is to ensure Ms Gibbons' welfare, and we will continue to provide consular assistance to her," he said.
"I have called in the Sudanese ambassador this evening to explain the decision and to discuss next steps."
Staff complaint
Officials at the Foreign Office say the mood has changed as a result of the verdict.
The prime minister, Sudanese embassy officials in London and UK Muslim organisations all expressed the hope that Mrs Gibbons would be released.
But Sudan's top clerics had called for the full measure of the law to be used against Mrs Gibbons and labelled her actions part of a Western plot against Islam.
She could have faced up to 40 lashes.
In September, Mrs Gibbons allowed her class of primary school pupils to name the teddy bear Muhammad as part of a study of animals and their habitats.
The court heard that she was arrested on Sunday after another member of staff at Unity High School complained to the Ministry of Education.
The school's director Robert Boulos told the AP news agency: "It's a very fair verdict, she could have had six months and lashes and a fine, and she only got 15 days and deportation."
He said Mrs Gibbons would only serve another 10 days in prison having already spent five in custody since her arrest.
Prosecutor general Salah Eddin Abu Zaid had said Mrs Gibbons could expect a "swift and fair trial".
But Catherine Wolthuizen, chief executive of Fair Trials International, said Mrs Gibbons' treatment was excessive.
She said: "It was a very speedy justice process. Although she has been found guilty of all the counts of causing offence, she has thankfully not been subjected to 40 lashes.
"Having said this, 15 days in a Sudanese prison for an innocent misunderstanding is a serious and harsh punishment indeed."
Other BBC articles relating to this story:
-- What can't be named Muhammad?
-- Respecting sensitivities abroad
-- Bloggers condemn Sudan for arrest
Is it actually reasonable for any country to use the law in such a way? If it is, should a country that is given to this point of view, allow people from other nations and cultures to cross onto their soil? If they really do find it so trivial, why on Earth do they even converse with people outside of their own bounds and culture?
