British teacher arrives home from Sudan
Updated: 2007-12-04 20:48
London - A British teacher jailed in Sudan for letting her students name a teddy bear Muhammad as part of a writing project arrived home Tuesday after being pardoned and said she was "very upset to think that I might have caused offense to people."
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Gillian Gibbons told reporters after arriving at London's Heathrow Airport that she was looking forward to seeing her family and friends.
"I'm just an ordinary middle-aged primary school teacher. I went out there to have an adventure, and got a bit more than I bargained for," Gibbons said at a brief news conference.
"I don't think anyone could have imagined it would snowball like this," she added.
Gibbons, 54, jailed for more than a week, was freed after two Muslim members of Britain's House of Lords met with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and the teacher sent the president a statement saying she didn't mean to offend anyone with her class project.
"It has been an ordeal but I'd like want you to know that I was well-treated in prison and everybody was very kind to me," she said. "I was very sorry to leave Sudan. I had a fabulous time there. It's a really lovely place, and I managed to see some of the beautiful countryside while I was there."
Gibbons said she didn't want her experience "to put anyone off going to Sudan - in fact I know of a lovely school that needs a new Year Two teacher."
Al-Bashir insisted Gibbons had a fair trial, in which she was convicted of insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad, but the president agreed to pardon her during the meeting with the British delegation, said Ghazi Saladdin, a senior presidential adviser.
Gibbons left Sudan Monday night, flying via Dubai to London.
"I'd like to thank the government for all they have done, the hard work behind the scenes, especially the two peers who went out there," said her 25-year-old son, John. "Everyone's been really great."
When asked her feelings about the offense she was accused of, Gibbons said: "I don't think I really know enough about it to comment really. It's a very difficult area and a very delicate area."
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