KHARTOUM (AFP) — The British teacher jailed in Sudan for insulting Islam after she named a teddy bear Mohammed flew out of Khartoum on Monday following a presidential pardon that ended her eight-day ordeal.
"I can confirm she's left the country," the embassy spokesman told AFP by telephone. Gillian Gibbons, 54, was accompanied by the two British Muslim peers who secured her pardon by Sudan's Islamist President Omar al-Beshir.
Beshir signed the pardon after meeting the peers, Lord Nizar Ahmed and Baroness Warsi, who flew in to Khartoum at the weekend on a mercy mission to petition for Gibbons' early release.
The mother-of-two was arrested November 25 and sentenced to 15 days in prison on Thursday for insulting religion by allowing children at an English school to name a teddy bear Mohammed.
Britain's ambassador to Sudan, Rosalind Marsden, accompanied Gibbons to Khartoum airport where her departure plans was kept secret until after take-off for fear of a repetition of demonstrations on Friday calling for her execution.
Gibbons, who at one point faced the possibility of a public lashing for her crime, was expected to arrive in Britain on Tuesday morning.
Britain welcomed the outcome as a victory for "common sense" after what it said had been an "innocent misunderstanding," as her children in Liverpool in northwest England prepared to welcome her home.
Gibbons issued a statement voicing her great respect for Islam, apologies for any distress and regrets at being unable to stay in Sudan.
"She was pardoned thanks to the mediation of Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi," presidential adviser Mahjoub Fadl Badri told AFP earlier as Beshir met the Muslim peers.
Gibbons had spent eight days in detention after parents at the exclusive Christian-run English school where she taught complained that she had allowed young children to name the bear Mohammed.
Sudan enforces Islamic Sharia law in Khartoum, where alcohol is banned and most women dress modestly. For devout Muslims, any physical depiction of Mohammed is blasphemous and strictly forbidden.
"I have been in Sudan only four months but I have enjoyed myself immensely. I have encountered nothing but kindness and generosity from the Sudanese people," said Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, reading out the statement from Gibbons.
"I want to express my thanks to all who have worked so hard while I'm in prison. Thank you also for your messages of support."
The peers, members of Britain's upper house of parliament, thanked Sudan and everyone who worked behind the scenes for the pardon and expressed the hope that the incident would not worsen relations between the two countries.
"It seems like we have been in Sudan for an eternity, it is in fact just over 48 hours. It is because of the tremendous goodwill shown on all sides that Gillian's ordeal has now come to an end," Warsi said.
"We are delighted that Gillian Gibbons will be returning home with us."
A crowd of around 40 gathered in front of the British embassy, protesting at the pardon and waving a banner reading "God give victory and glory to Prophet Mohammed." The demonstrators dispersed after handing in a petition.
Gibbons' arrest and jail sentence sparked outrage in Britain and a diplomatic crisis between London and Khartoum, further straining relations already frayed over nearly five years of war in Darfur.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "delighted and relieved" at the news of the teacher's release and paid tribute to the two Muslim peers.
The Muslim Council of Britain said: "It will be wonderful to see her back in the UK. I am sure she will be welcomed by both Muslims and non-Muslims after her quite terrible ordeal at the hands of the Sudanese authorities."
Gibbons' 25-year-old son John said from Liverpool: "It's been a strange old week, very stressful and particularly bad for the family but now she's coming home, fingers crossed."
Thousands of people demonstrated on Friday after weekly prayers in Khartoum, the conservative capital of the former British colony, against what they considered Gibbons' lenient sentence, with some calling for her execution.
Being found guilty of insulting religion and inciting hatred in Sudan is punishable by up to six months in prison, 40 lashes and a fine.
Before the presidential pardon, Sudan's Committee of Muslim Scholars had been critical of any early release for Gibbons, given that she had received what they regarded as a very light sentence.
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