Khartoum/London - A British schoolteacher in Sudan was sentenced to 15 days in jail Thursday for allowing her pupils to call the class teddy bear Mohammed. Britain said it was "extremely disappointed" in the verdict. Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was found guilty by a court in Khartoum of "insulting religion" and would be deported after serving her sentence, of which 10 days remain following her arrest last Sunday, her lawyer said.
In London, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was "extremely disappointed" that the charges against Gibbons had not been dismissed.
He said he had called in the Sudanese ambassador, Omer Mohamed Ahmed Siddig, to "explain the decision and to discuss the next steps."
"Our priority is her welfare," added Miliband.
Officials said the mood had changed in London after the guilty verdict was announced, dashing hopes in Britain that Gibbons would be freed.
During her one-day trial Thursday, the court heard that Gibbons was arrested and charged after a fellow-member of staff at the Christian private school where she was teaching complained to the Ministry of Education about the teddy.
The class toy was named Mohammed at the suggestion of a pupil, aged 6 or 7, who had the same name, it was reported after Gibbon's arrest.
Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Sudanese embassy officials in London and Muslim groups in Britain had all expressed the hope that the charges against Gibbons would be dropped.
However, it was pointed out in London that Gibbons was convicted for "insulting religion," and that two further charges - inciting hatred and contempt for religious beliefs - were dropped.
Under Sudanese law, she could have been sentenced to up to six months in jail, 40 lashes, or a fine.
Journalists were not allowed into the courtroom, where Gibbons arrived Thursday without handcuffs, it was reported.
Before her conviction, Miliband stressed in a meeting with Ambassador Siddig that she had made an "innocent mistake" and urged that her ordeal be addressed at the "highest level" in Sudan.
The British government, which has so far sought to solve the matter quickly and without further escalation, was now expected to increase the pressure on Sudan for her immediate release, analysts said.
The case has sparked a string of protests in London and condemnation from the main Muslim organization in Britain, the Muslim Council of Britain.
Earlier Thursday, a spokesman for the Sudanese embassy in London said he "hoped and prayed" that Gibbons would be back in Britain soon.
Protests erupted last year across the Muslim world over cartoon depictions of the prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper.
