London - The release in Sudan of a British teacher jailed for naming a teddy bear Mohammed was Monday hailed as a victory for "common sense" by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. In a statement issued in London, which confirmed the release of the 54-year-old, Brown said he was "delighted and relieved to hear the news that Gillian Gibbons is to be freed."
"Common sense has prevailed. She will be released into the care of our embassy in Khartoum after what must have been a difficult ordeal."
Brown stressed that Britain's main Muslim organizations had supported the government stance over the arrest and sentencing of Gibbons "throughout her ordeal."
Gibbons was sentenced to 15 days in jail last Thursday for allowing her pupils to name a teddy bear Mohammed after a boy in her class of 6-and 7-year-olds at a Christian charity school in Khartoum.
She was given a pardon by Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir after a meeting in Khartoum with two members of the House of Lords in Britain.
Baroness Warsi and Lord Ahmed used a private visit to Sudan to press for a meeting with the president, which took place after a weekend of lobbying Monday.
Gibbons was arrested after a colleague at the school reported her to the Ministry of Education, the court in Khartoum was told during one-day proceedings Thursday.
Following angry demonstrations at the alleged leniency of her sentence in Khartoum Friday, she was moved to a "safe location" for her own protection, and visited twice by the British delegation at the weekend.
