This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/7123420.stm

The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Ambassador meets jailed teacher Peer voices Sudan teacher hopes
(about 3 hours later)
The UK teacher jailed in Sudan for insulting religion has been visited by the British ambassador, the Foreign Office has said. A UK Muslim peer has said she hopes for an early resolution to the ordeal of a British teacher in Sudan who has been jailed for insulting religion.
It comes as two UK Muslim peers are waiting to meet the Sudanese president to lobby for Gillian Gibbons's release. Baroness Warsi said talks about freeing Gillian Gibbons had "presented hope".
Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi hope to hold talks with Omar al-Bashir, who has the power to pardon Mrs Gibbons. Conservative Lady Warsi and Labour peer Lord Ahmed are still hoping to meet President Omar al-Bashir in their bid to have Mrs Gibbons released.
Mrs Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was jailed after she allowed pupils in her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad. The 54-year-old from Liverpool was imprisoned for 15 days after letting her pupils name a teddy bear Muhammad.
She has released a statement through her lawyer to Channel 4 News saying: "I've been well treated." Mrs Gibbons still has "warm things" to say about Sudan, Baroness Warsi said after meeting her again on Sunday.
Successful outcome She added: "I understand the cultural and religious sensitivities around Islam, but as a woman and a British woman I have huge concerns for Gillian and I just hope that we can carry on presenting the case for Gillian and reach an early resolution.
Following the ambassador's visit, which lasted just over an hour, a Foreign Office spokesman said: "Ms Gibbons has confirmed she is being treated well and is in a comfortable and secure environment. You have got to remember there are other forces in Khartoum as well who feel the sentence was too lenient Louise Ellman MP
"Ms Gibbons's welfare remains our priority and we will continue to provide full consular assistance for as long as Ms Gibbons is detained. "This is a very important issue, a huge issue, and we must remain optimistic and hopeful that we can resolve it as early as possible."
She added: "They've presented us with hope. Enough for us to carry on having those meetings.
"There's no time-frame or agenda set at this stage but we just want at this stage to carry on with the day-to-day meetings. I met Gillian, she's in good spirits, she has been very positive, she had warm things to say about Sudan."
Intense activity
Mrs Gibbons's local MP Louise Ellman said: "You have got to remember there are other forces in Khartoum as well who feel the sentence was too lenient and so I think it is a matter of doing everything that is possible, doing it very carefully, keeping very focussed and just dealing with things as they arise."
Following an hour-long visit to Mrs Gibbons by the British ambassador on Sunday, a Foreign Office spokesman said: "Ms Gibbons's welfare remains our priority and we will continue to provide full consular assistance for as long as Ms Gibbons is detained.
"Government ministers and officials in London and Sudan are continuing to do everything they can to try to resolve this consular issue as quickly as possible through intense activity on a wide range of channels.""Government ministers and officials in London and Sudan are continuing to do everything they can to try to resolve this consular issue as quickly as possible through intense activity on a wide range of channels."
The two peers have already held meetings with Sudanese government officials, including the foreign minister, to try to resolve the situation.The two peers have already held meetings with Sudanese government officials, including the foreign minister, to try to resolve the situation.
Pardon expected
They say the meetings so far have gone well and they are confident of a successful outcome, the BBC's Adam Mynott says.
Mrs Gibbons's chief defence lawyer has said he expected her to be pardoned following the peers' visit.Mrs Gibbons's chief defence lawyer has said he expected her to be pardoned following the peers' visit.
Labour Lord Ahmed and Conservative Baroness Warsi met Mrs Gibbons on Saturday and said she was in good spirits.
Mrs Gibbons allowed her class to name the teddy bear Muhammad Opinion divided in Sudan UK Sudanese defends teacherMrs Gibbons allowed her class to name the teddy bear Muhammad Opinion divided in Sudan UK Sudanese defends teacher
In her first public comment since her arrest, Mrs Gibbons said she had been treated well and made a light-hearted comment that she been given so many apples "I feel I could set up my own stall". He told the BBC that he had advised his client not to appeal against the verdict or the sentence "for practical and not legal reasons", and she had accepted his advice.
However despite her apparent good spirits, she is being held in secret due to fears for her safety after crowds of protesters marched in the capital Khartoum demanding a tougher sentence. Some called for the death penalty. In her first public comment since her arrest, Mrs Gibbons said she had been treated well and made a light-hearted comment that she been given so many apples that she "could set up my own stall".
Lord Ahmed said he had Baroness Warsi had relayed their message to Sudanese officials. However despite her apparent good spirits, she is being held in secret due to fears for her safety after crowds of protesters marched in the capital Khartoum on Friday demanding a tougher sentence. Some called for the death penalty.
"What we have done is very much put our case to the ministers and we've said how this is perceived in the West," he said.
The Foreign Office said its officials had also spent an hour and a half with Mrs Gibbons and said she was now being held in a "more comfortable and secure environment".
Mrs Gibbons's lawyer told the BBC that he had advised his client not to appeal against the verdict or the sentence "for practical and not legal reasons", and she had accepted his advice.
Anger in Khartoum
Sources close to the Sudanese president believe there will be more chance of securing Mrs Gibbons's release through a Muslim-led delegation than through the Foreign Office's diplomacy efforts.
There has been anger in Khartoum at Britain's recent threat to impose sanctions because Sudan has been dragging its feet over the implementation of a joint United Nations - African Union peacekeeping force in the war-torn region of Darfur.
The Foreign Office has stressed that the visit by the two members of the House of Lords is separate to its ongoing work to get Mrs Gibbons freed.
But it said that it was offering all possible support to the peers, who were accompanied in their meetings by Britain's ambassador to Sudan.
In September, Mrs Gibbons allowed her class of primary school pupils to name the teddy bear Muhammad as part of a study of animals and their habitats.
The children decided on the name after voting for it as their most popular choice.