Crowds demand Teddy bear teacher is shot

Thousands of people wielding clubs and knives called for a British teacher to be shot today as a diplomatic row brewed over her sentence for "insulting Islam".
Sheikh Abdul Jalil Karuri, a leading cleric, whipped up a crowd attending Khartoum's Martyr's Mosque by telling them Gillian Gibbons had deliberately named her class's teddy bear Mohammed "with the intention of insulting Islam."
Later the protestors joined other worshippers to congregate in Martyrs Square, in the centre of the capital, where they chanted "Shame, shame on the UK".
"Those who insult the Prophet of Islam should be punished with bullets," the crowd shouted after Gibbons, 54, was jailed for 15 days on charges stemming from naming a teddy bear Mohammed.
Others shouted "execute her" before crowds of hundreds who had congregated outside the British embassy, some on horseback, dispersed peacefully.
Authorities in Britain and Sudan refused to reveal where Mrs Gibbons, jailed for 15 days yesterday for insulting religion and inciting hatred, was serving her sentence for fear of rioting.
But British consular officials have said they are not issuing advice to British nationals living and working in Sudan despite the trouble.
Diplomatic staff visited Mrs Gibbons, 54, this morning and said she was bearing up well.
An embassy spokesman said: "The consul and the deputy ambassador visited her this morning and she was fine. She's in good spirits and she's not being mistreated or anything like that."
Extra police were on duty and, mindful of last year's violent demonstrations following the publication of caricatures of Prophet Mohammed in Denmark, keen to prevent similar scenes.
The Sudanese ambassador, Omer Siddig, has not been called to David Miliband's Whitehall office today, after he was summoned twice yesterday.
The foreign office had demanded an explanation of the sentence, and Mr Miliband also spoke to the Sudanese Foreign Minister to express "in the strongest terms" his dismay that Mrs Gibbons had been convicted and jailed.
A Foreign Office spokesman said yesterday they were continuing to do all they could to ensure she was freed as soon as possible.
Her son, John, from Liverpool, has not yet been allowed to telephone her but was hoping to fly out to Sudan to visit her as soon as a visa could be arranged. He stress that British people angered by his mother's jail sentence should not turn against Muslims.
"I don't not want this to lead to any anti-Muslims feeling in this country.
"Everyone has been very nice, we have had a lot of support from Muslims in Britain, in Sudan and across the world.
"My fear, and one of my mother's fears, is that this will result in resentment towards Muslim people. "That is something I really hope does not happen and I am sure my mum feels the same way."
By Nick Britten
Last Updated: 4:37pm GMT 30/11/2007
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