Posted on 12/09/2007 6:03:38 PM PST by DogByte6RER
Jailed teddy teacher: I feared I would be raped by Sudanese prison officers wanting to teach me a lesson
By ANDREW WILKS - More by this author »
9th December 2007
The teacher imprisoned in the Sudan for naming a teddy bear Mohammed has told how she feared being raped by her guards during her incarceration.
Gillian Gibbons, who was arrested when a school secretary complained to the authorities two months after the stuffed toy was named by pupils at Unity High School in Khartoum, said her greatest worry was that her guards would "teach the blaspheming white woman a lesson".
"That was my worst terror - that they would come in and teach me a lesson by raping me or that they would hit me," she said.
Recalling the eight days she was held in custody, Ms Gibbons described her shock immediately after her arrest on November 25.
She was thrown into an open-air cell with grey-tiled walls, a squat toilet and bars across one side of the room and the ceiling.
"It was filthy, there were ants all over the floor and in the corner there were rat droppings," she said.
"There was a light shining into my yard that attracted all the mosquitoes, so I stood there and got bitten to death."
She added: "I was panicking and I was crying. I didn't actually sleep all night. I was so distressed, so uncomfortable and so cold that at four in the morning I just paced round and round trying to keep warm.
"It felt like this was happening to someone else. It was just mad, just surreal."
The 54-year-old mother of two also told how she felt like she had been "run over by ten juggernauts" when a sharia court convicted her of insulting the prophet and sentenced her to 15 days in jail.
But displaying a wry sense of humour, Ms Gibbons, from Liverpool, recounted a farcical moment in court when the teddy was introduced as evidence. "This clerk of the court got this carrier bag and produced this bear with a flourish like a rabbit out of a hat," she said.
"He put it down on the table in front of us and it flopped over and the prosecution sat him up... It made me laugh but it wasn't funny, you know what I mean?"
Ms Gibbons was pardoned by Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir last Monday following lobbying by Muslim peers Baroness Warsi and Lord Ahmed. She was driven to the airport and boarded a plane to Dubai with the two British politicians.
Sitting amid the splendour of the first class cabin, she was finally able to relax and toast her freedom with a vodka and orange on top of a meal of lobster tails and potatoes.
"I'm not a drinker but I felt obliged to have an alcoholic drink even though I was with Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi, who are Muslims. I was a bit embarrassed about it but I thought I'd earned that vodka."
Despite her ordeal, Ms Gibbons harbours no hostility or regrets, describing her time in the Sudan as "wonderful" and blaming herself for the "misunderstanding".
I’m not a drinker but I felt obliged to have an alcoholic drink even though I was with Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi, who are Muslims. I was a bit embarrassed about it but I thought I’d earned that vodka.”
Perfect. You go girl!
She’s typing quite well for a dead lass. At least she didn’t lose her head over all of this.
Perhaps she can tell the rest of Briton about the joys of living under Sharia Law.
Why some people never learn ping.
How terrible it was for her in that prison! Her description of them bringing in ‘Mohammed the teddy bear’ as an exhibit in her trial was funny, in an absurd sort of way.
‘Misunderstanding’, my @ss, those islamist fanatics are crazy nuts.
Well, the fact that she was not mistreated shows the media attention had an influence on someone in that neadrethal gov’t. Enough to tell those animals they better heep their hands off her. Not that they have any compassion for human life.
He is from the Christian part of the Sudan and his stories are heartbreaking on many levels.
bleeding heart disease.
I think you are right, if it hadn't been for the world wide attention she most likely would have been raped and/or murdered in prison, assuming that she ever got that far.
Considering that once they raped her, she’d become an “adulteress” and could them be stoned to death, it’s a good thing it didn’t happen.
Besides, civilized people get stoned first and then commit adultery.
Yes, for decades the Muslims of northern Sudan waged war against the Christians and animists of the south, while the world ignored the situation. That region has been forgotten again because of Darfur—but I think there was talk a few years ago of autonomy which might have led to independence. I don’t know if that is still a possibility—could hardly be worse than continued subjection to the racist Muslim government in Khartoum.
I'm still willing to believe there are some Muslims who find this sort of thing offensive, but most of them seem either indifferent, or afraid to speak up.
Once again we see that liberal logic is dhimmi logic.
Yes, it appears that she has learned that the dhimmi does not insult the masters.
“””””””””
But displaying a wry sense of humour, Ms Gibbons, from Liverpool, recounted a farcical moment in court when the teddy was introduced as evidence. “This clerk of the court got this carrier bag and produced this bear with a flourish like a rabbit out of a hat,” she said.
“He put it down on the table in front of us and it flopped over and the prosecution sat him up... It made me laugh but it wasn’t funny, you know what I mean?”
“””””””””
“””””””””
Sitting amid the splendour of the first class cabin, she was finally able to relax and toast her freedom with a vodka and orange on top of a meal of lobster tails and potatoes.
“I’m not a drinker but I felt obliged to have an alcoholic drink even though I was with Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi, who are Muslims. I was a bit embarrassed about it but I thought I’d earned that vodka.”
“”””””””””
I suggest her statement is a Pre-release agreement.
I saw pix of the teacher. Nothing against fat liberals from Great Britain, but I do think her fears were mis-placed. Perhaps she was actually hoping, not fearing.
Alice’s Restaraunt, Islam version.
Yes, she is a genuine fool. Why wasn’t she teaching in Great Britain?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.