Muslim peers bid to free teacher

Date: 01 Dec 2007

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Muslim peers bid to free teacher

Saturday, 01 December 2007, 07:15 GMT
- Search: teddy sudan peers
 
Primary school teacher Gillian Gibbons, sentenced to 15 days' prison

Two Muslim peers have begun a private bid to free a British teacher jailed in Sudan for insulting Islam.
Lord Ahmed, a Muslim Labour peer, and Baroness Warsi, a Muslim Conservative peer, are travelling to Sudan to meet President Bashir in a bid to end Gillian Gibbons' ordeal.
Mrs Gibbons, 54, was jailed for allowing her class to name a teddy bear Mohammed.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "Any efforts which complement the efforts which we are making to secure Mrs Gibbons' release are very welcome."

Lord Ahmed became the first Muslim peer in 1988, and earlier this year said he was "appalled" at the decision to give Salman Rushdie a knighthood.

In June 2007 Baroness Warsi was appointed Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion.

Mrs Gibbons does not want the situation to spark "resentment" towards Muslims, her son said.

John Gibbons, 27, from Liverpool, said his mother Gillian was "holding up quite well" as she serves a 15-day prison sentence handed down by a Sudanese court on Thursday.
Revealing her first reaction to her jail sentence, he told The Associated Press on Friday night: "One of the things my mum said today was that 'I don't want any resentment towards Muslim people'.

"She doesn't want people using her and her case as something to stoke up resentment towards anyone, towards Sudanese people, towards Muslim people or whatever."

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Courtesy AOL.

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