KILL HER
British teacher Gillian Gibbons had to be moved from prison in Sudan last night as extremists demanded her execution.
Up to 10,000 Muslims took to Khartoum’s streets shouting: “Kill her, kill her by firing squad.”[>
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Armed with clubs, swords and axes, the mob burned her photograph because she allowed pupils to call a teddy bear Mohammed.
The mother of two was taken from her cell to a secret location in case the demonstrations triggered an attempt on her life.[>
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Ms Gibbons, 54, had been sentenced to 15 days in the tough Omdurman women’s prison after escaping the maximum sentence of six months and 40 lashes.[>
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Yesterday’s fierce protests came after rabble-rousing clerics claimed the sentence was too lenient and accused the teacher of intentionally insulting Islam.[>
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Abdul-Jalil Nazeer al-Karouri, a hard-liner at Khartoum’s main Martyrs Mosque, told worshippers: “This woman has insulted and harmed our beloved prophet. Imprisoning this lady does not satisfy the thirst of Muslims in Sudan. But we welcome imprisonment and expulsion.[>
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“This is an arrogant woman who came to our country, cashing her salary in dollars, teaching our children hatred of our Prophet Mohammed.”[>
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Riot police were deployed as crowds gathered for an hour outside the presidential palace in the Sudanese capital. A mob waving green Islamic flags chanted, “No tolerance – execution” and “Shame, shame on the UK”.[>
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Yassin Mubarak, a dreadlocked protester carrying a sword, said: “It is a premeditated action and this unbeliever thinks that she can fool us? What she did requires her life to be taken.”[>
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Ms Gibbons’ family in Aigburth, Liverpool, were said to be “terrified” that she could be targeted by an extremist.[>
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Son John, 25, spoke to Ms Gibbons yesterday and said: “She’s holding up quite well.” He said his mother had called for tolerance towards Muslims, telling him: “I don’t want any resentment towards Muslim people.”[>
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John added: “This is really difficult for us at the moment, my head is everywhere.”[>
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Daughter Jessica, 27, who is also a teacher, posted a message on her mother’s Myspace social networking website page, writing simply: “I love you mum xxxxxx.”[>
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Gordon Brown promised her family he would do “all he could” to secure her release. [>
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Muslim Labour peer Lord Ahmed is to lead a parliamentary group to Sudan in a bid to win Ms Gibbons’ freedom. [>
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He is travelling at the invitation of the Sudanese government and expects to meet the president and chief justice.[>
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Yesterday Sudanese officials said Ms Gibbons’ sentence would be backdated to the day of her arrest, leaving her with nine more days in prison.[>
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Her chief lawyer Kamal al-Jazouli last night said she was moved from the prison “to put her in other hands and in other places to cover her”.[>
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The decision to imprison Ms Gibbons on Thursday was greeted with disbelief in Britain.[>
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It was seen as an attempt by the Sudanese government to appease hard-liners, while trying to quell British anger by stopping short of the maximum sentence.[>
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Ms Gibbons’ nightmare unfolded after a class project on animals at the private Unity High School in Khartoum, which has 750 students from mainly wealthy Muslim families.[>
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She asked her pupils to vote on a name for the bear after it was brought in by a seven-year-old.[>
They chose Mohammed, a common name among Muslim men – but also the name of the prophet.[>
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School office assistant Sara Khawad complained that Ms Gibbons had insulted the prophet, prompting her arrest.[>
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Ms Gibbons defended herself tearfully during her eight-hour trial, explaining that she never wanted to insult Islam.[>
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She will be deported after she completes her sentence. Before her transfer, Ms Gibbons was visited by consular staff and bravely told them: “I am fine.”[>
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On Saturday, a day before she was arrested, divorced Ms Gibbons wrote on Myspace: “Home at Christmas.” [>
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She said she was “busy” and listed her hobbies as travelling and “making the most out of life”.[>
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Yesterday an internet campaign urging Ms Gibbons’ release gathered momentum.[>
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One message stated: “Gillian has done absolutely nothing wrong and should be freed immediately and reunited with her loved ones.”[>
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Another said: “What would happen if it were a Muslim being held like that for something so childish? There would be mass protests. I hope there is some sort of protest against this Islamic embarrassment, as I would be right in the crowd.”[>
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A Sudanese official blamed the Khartoum demonstrations on “hotheads” from hard-line mosques.[>
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Dr Khalid al-Mubarak of the Sudanese embassy in London also revealed that colleagues had been bombarded with emails and phone calls from angry Britons.[>
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He said a source told him Ms Gibbons “did not even know Mohammed was our prophet”, but said “innocence alone is not enough” to ensure her freedom.[>
