The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Khartoum

Sudanese authorities began questioning a British teacher on Tuesday arrested for insulting Islam after her young students named a teddy bear Mohammad. Gillian Gibbons, a 54-year-old teacher at the Unity High School in Khartoum, was arrested on Sunday after complaints from parents. "She has been transferred for questioning," said one police official in the station where she was being held. The official said a decision was possible on Tuesday from the investigating authorities as to whether charges would be brought against Gibbons. If convicted of insulting Islam, she could be sentenced to 40 lashes, six months in prison or a fine, lawyers said. Teachers at the school said Gibbons had asked her class of 7-year-olds to choose their favorite name for the teddy bear and 20 of the 23 had voted for Mohammad.