British teacher jailed in Sudan teddy row pardoned

LONDON: British teacher Gillian Gibbons, who was jailed in Sudan for allowing her students to name a teddy bear Mohammed has been given a presidential pardon, reports said Monday.
 
A presidential adviser was quoted as saying the Briton would be freed later in the day, the British Press Association (PA) said.
 
The news came as two British Muslim politicians, Baroness Warsi and Lord Ahmed, met Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to plead for her release.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed the teacher's release and hailed it as a victory for "common sense".
 
In a statement in London, which confirmed her release, Brown said he was "delighted and relieved to hear the news that Gillian Gibbons is to be freed."
 
He stressed that Britain's main Muslim organizations had supported the government stance over the arrest and sentencing of Gibbons "throughout her ordeal."
 
Gibbons was given a 15-day jail sentence last week for allegedly insulting Islam after she had allowed her primary school pupils to name the bear Mohammed.