SUDAN:Before Gillian Gibbons's trial, a man sentenced to life for murder was dealt 20 lashes in front of onlookers, writes Rob Crillyin Khartoum
The British schoolteacher accused of insulting Islam by allowing her seven-year-old pupils name a teddy bear Muhammad was last night sentenced to 15 days in prison by a judge in Sudan.
Gillian Gibbons (54) was found guilty of "insulting religion" after an eight-hour hearing. The maximum penalty she had faced was 40 lashes and six months in prison.
She was sent to Omdurman women's prison, from where she will be deported after serving her sentence.
Ms Gibbons had arrived at Khartoum north criminal court earlier in the day looking pale and exhausted to find a scene of pandemonium.
Reporters, court officials and members of the public jostled for a view of the woman accused of insulting Islam's holiest prophet.
The trial was conducted behind closed doors in a modern, airy courtroom.
In court, Judge Muhammad Youssef listened to two accounts - one from school secretary Sarah Khawad, who filed the first complaint about the teddy bear's name, and one from the official who has been investigating the case, court sources said.
Teachers and clergy from Unity High School were in court to support Ms Gibbons. Her colleagues had maintained all along that Ms Gibbons had meant no offence. They said her class of six- and seven-year-olds had voted on the name, which is shared by one of their most popular classmates.
Isam Abu Hasabu, chairman of the Unity High School's parent- teacher association, said: "The whole thing boiled down to a cultural misunderstanding. In our culture, we don't know the bear as a cuddly symbol of mercy."
In a bizarre twist, onlookers were given a taste of justice meted out Sudanese style.
Police dragged a man from the courtroom where he had just been sentenced to death for murder - and dealt him 20 lashes with a heavy rubber tube for good measure.
Russell Phillips, the British consul in Khartoum, sat barely three feet away. He pretended to fiddle with his mobile phone as he waited to be allowed into the trial of Ms Gibbons.
The press was banned from the courtroom, and three film crews were detained for filming street scenes outside the court.
Security was tight outside the modern building of traditional arches and futuristic sheets of glass. Three pick-ups crammed with riot police - armed with sticks and AK-47s - stood on the dusty street outside. Plainclothed security officers patrolled the halls.
"Maximum security are being in place because we anticipated demonstrations," said a security official.
"As security we know that nothing big happened today, but maybe tomorrow."
He said police believed there would be a large, licensed demonstration today when imams were expected to address the episode during Friday prayers.
The British foreign office last night said it was "extremely disappointed" by the sentence, and foreign secretary David Miliband again summoned the Sudanese ambassador to explain the verdict. British Muslim groups had called for the acquittal of Ms Gibbons, saying the case was harming Islam's image.