Gillian Gibbons asked her class to vote on a name for a teddy bear (Photo from the BBC website)

KHARTOUM, SUDAN (ANS) -- A UK teacher has been released and handed over to British officials in Sudan after being jailed for letting her class name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, England, was freed after eight days in custody. She had been given a 15-day jail term.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir pardoned her after talks with two British Muslim peers.

In a statement, Mrs Gibbons apologized for "any distress." UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "delighted" at her release.

Mrs Gibbons, who is a mother of two children, has been released into the care of the British embassy in Khartoum, but her exact location has not been disclosed. She was released four days after receiving a 15-day sentence for insulting religion.

Earlier, the BBC says, a demonstration of about 30 or 40 people was held outside the embassy in Khartoum, with banners protesting about the decision to release her.

Mrs Gibbons was arrested on November 25 and jailed on November 29 after allowing her pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad. She was arrested after another member of staff at Unity High School complained to the Ministry of Education about the incident in September.

The press office of President al-Bashir announced that he had pardoned Mrs Gibbons following his meeting with Baroness Warsi and Lord Ahmed, both members of the British House of Lords, and that she had been "released after their mediation."

In a statement read out by Baroness Warsi, Mrs Gibbons said: "I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone and I am sorry if I caused any distress.

"I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends but I am very sorry that I will be unable to return to Sudan and work in Unity High School as the teacher of 2X."

The BBC said Lord Ahmed thanked the president for granting the pardon and said both he and Baroness Warsi were proud to have been able to help Mrs Gibbons.

"This is a case which is unfortunate, unintentional, innocent misunderstanding, and as British Muslim parliamentarians we, Baroness Warsi and myself, we feel proud that we've been able to secure Gillian Gibbons's release."

Speaking later, Baroness Warsi said that when she and Lord Ahmed had visited Mrs Gibbons in custody, all three had made "lots of Yorkshire jokes.". All three were brought up in that county.

Asked how she and Lord Ahmed had helped to win freedom for Mrs Gibbons, Baroness Warsi said: "We played very different roles but complementary roles with different negotiation skills which had to be used."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said it was "completely wrong" that Mrs Gibbons had been detained, and described her imprisonment as "completely unacceptable."

He said: "Through the course of Mrs Gibbons's detention I was glad to see Muslim groups across the UK express strong support for her case.

"I applaud the particular efforts of Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi in securing her freedom. I am also grateful to our officials for all their work behind the scenes."

Speaking to reporters outside his home in Liverpool, Mrs Gibbons's son John said he was "very pleased."

He said: "I'd like to thank the government for all they have done, the hard work behind the scenes, especially the two peers who went out there. Everyone's been really great. Obviously it's a great feeling today, we're very pleased, we have been under a lot of pressure."

He said his mother would be "very pleased, although quite embarrassed to be on the news permanently."

Dr Khalid al-Mubarak, of the Sudanese embassy in London, said he hoped the affair would not damage relations between Sudan and the UK. "I think this is the correct resolution -- pardoned and released early," he told BBC News.

"The word pardoned also means that the original mistake has been -- not forgotten -- but behind us now."

The BBC report says Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he welcomed President al-Bashir's intervention, and said he and the Muslim community in the UK believed it had always been an "innocent misunderstanding."

Ibrahim Mogra from the Muslim Council of Britain told BBC News 24 that the whole saga had been very damaging for the image of the Muslim faith.

"Each time we have stories like these, that distort what Islam stands for or misrepresents what the compassion of Muslim law stands for, then we have repercussions and people begin to feel that Islam has no place in modern society…I have not come across one single Muslim in our country who has supported what has happened.''

President Omar al-Bashir had been under pressure from Sudanese hardliners to ensure Mrs Gibbons served her full sentence. There had been a protest, and calls for a retrial and for the sentence to be increased.

BBC Islamic affairs analyst Roger Hardy said the row over Mrs Gibbons had strained relations between Britain and Sudan -- and, beyond that, between the West and Islam.

The BBC says that even if intervention by two prominent British Muslims has succeeded in limiting the damage, the fact remains that damage has been done, he added.

CNN said Mrs. Gibbons, freed after Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir granted her a presidential pardon earlier Monday, apologized for any distress her actions may have caused.

"I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone and I am sorry if I caused any distress," Gibbons said, in a statement read out by Sayeeda Warsi, one of two British Muslim lawmakers who traveled out to Sudan to secure her release.

Without a pardon, she would have remained in jail another six days, CNN said.

The network reports Mrs. Gibbons is expected to leave Sudan on flight to England soon after the courts ruled she should be deported after completing her sentence, according to a spokesman.

Gibbons also praised the "kindness and generosity" of the Sudanese and said she would be sad to leave her job at the Unity High School and said she would miss her students "terribly."

The pardon came following efforts by Nazir Ahmed and Sayeeda Warsi, Muslim members of the House of Lords, to persuade the Sudanese government that releasing Gibbons would create international goodwill toward their country.

Ahmed, who is a member of the House of Lords -- the UK's upper parliamentary chamber, told CNN that Sudan's president was impressed that Gibbons intended no harm.

"This was an unfortunate, unintentional, innocent misunderstanding," Ahmed said, adding: "I am very confident that the whole matter will be resolved within hours rather than days."

"Common sense has prevailed," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said. He added that Gibbons will be taken to the British embassy in Khartoum after "what must have been a difficult ordeal."

British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, said he welcomed President al-Bashir's intervention.

"Gillian's welfare has been our priority at every stage. Gillian will now be released into the care of British Embassy officials in Khartoum. We will be discussing with Gillian her preferences for her return to the UK," he said.

Gibbon's son John told reporters he was sure his mom would be "very pleased," but said the family were holding in their excitement until she returned to Britain.

"It's been a good news morning, but the family won't be 100 per cent thrilled until she's on the plane," he said, adding: "It's been a strange old week, very strange for the family, and we're pleased it's coming to an end," he said.

He also expressed his family's gratitude towards the British government for helping to secure Gibbon's release, adding they were "thankful" for the Sudanese president's decision.

The efforts of Ahmed and Warsi had been complicated by pressure from hard-liners for Gibbons to serve out the last week of a 15-day sentence. Before the release of Mrs. Gibbons was announced, Warsi and Lord Ahmed delayed their return to the UK and Lady Warsi said they had "made progress."

According to a story that has made international headlines, teacher Gillian Gibbons asked her class to vote on a name for a teddy bear. They chose the name Muhammad.

The BBC story said, "Gillian Gibbons, 54, of Liverpool, was jailed for 15 days on Thursday for insulting religion by letting her pupils name a teddy bear Muhammad. Diplomats have high hopes that the meeting (with British peers) could lead to her release."

Baroness Warsi, a Conservative peer, traveled to Sudan with Labour's Lord Ahmed on Saturday.

"The pair had planned to return on Monday morning, but Lady Warsi said that they would remain in the country for a third day of talks," said the BBC.

"Presidential aide Mahzoub Faidul said President Omar al-Bashir would meet the British delegation to discuss the case on Monday morning."

BBC correspondent Amber Henshaw said the president was under pressure internally to ensure Mrs. Gibbons completed the full 15-day sentence. She said some hardliners there felt the sentence was too lenient and want a re-trial.

Lady Warsi said that while negotiations had been "difficult," there was "a huge amount of goodwill to try and secure an early release" for the teacher.

There were number of meetings scheduled for tomorrow [Monday], but Lady Warsi said they were not prepared to say who they are with or what would discussed. "These are very delicate times and were are trying to be as responsible and restrained as possible," she said.

The BBC said that Mrs. Gibbons still has "warm things" to say about Sudan, Lady Warsi said after meeting her again on Sunday.

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.

"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."

Lady Warsi added: "They've presented us with hope. Enough for us to carry on having those meetings."

Mrs. Gibbons's chief defense lawyer has said he expected her to be pardoned following the peers' visit.

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.

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."

The BBC concluded, "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."

TEDDY ROW TEACHER TIMELINE
Sept: Gillian Gibbons' class votes to name a teddy bear Muhammad
25 Nov: She is arrested for allegedly insulting Islam's Prophet 27 Nov: Gordon Brown says efforts are being made to release her
28 Nov: Mrs Gibbons is charged with insulting religion and inciting hatred
29 Nov: A Sudanese court finds her guilty of insulting Islam and sentences her to 15 days in prison and deportation
30 Nov: Angry protesters in Khartoum demand a harsher sentence
1 Dec: Two British Muslim peers press Sudanese officials to pardon her
3 Dec: Mrs Gibbons is pardoned by Sudan's president and freed from prison

** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. His weblog appears at: Michael's Wor(l)d BLOG