Khartoum, Sudan — Sudan on Thursday jailed for 15 days a British teacher charged with insulting Islam by allowing children to name a teddy bear Mohammed and ordered her deportation, her lawyer said.
Gillian Gibbons, a 54-year-old mother of two, had faced jail, flogging and a fine after she allowed her six and seven-year-old pupils to give the toy the same name as the Muslim prophet.
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he had called in the Sudanese ambassador Omer Siddiq to explain the decision and discuss what to do next.
"We are extremely disappointed that the charges against Gillian Gibbons were not dismissed," Miliband said in a statement.
"As I said this morning, our clear view is that this is an innocent misunderstanding by a dedicated teacher. Our priority now is to ensure Ms Gibbons' welfare and we will continue to provide consular assistance to her.
Sudan's ambassador was called in for talks earlier in the day.
The United States backed Britain and branded the decision outrageous but said it would leave the matter up to Britain.
"Obviously, it's an outrage," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. "Anyone looking at this on its face would have to conclude that it was outrageous."
Mohammed is a popular name in Sudan but Islam forbids any physical representation of the Prophet Mohammed.
"The 15-day sentence will run from the time of her arrest on Sunday, after which she will be expelled from the country," lawyer Kamal Jazuli said after a marathon seven-hour hearing.
The lawyer appeared happy with the verdict and said nothing about an appeal.
Gibbons was whisked out of the courtroom as soon as the verdict was read out but had appeared well earlier in the hearing, wearing dark conservative clothes, according to witnesses.
Following the verdict, prosecutor Babikr Abdulatif said: "I think that the verdict is in accordance with the law because the objective is to reassure the Muslim community who felt the sanctity of their Prophet had been attacked."
The maximum sentence for breaching Article 125 of the penal code -- publicly insulting or degrading any religion, its rites, beliefs and sacred items or humiliating its believers -- is six months in jail, 40 lashes and a fine.
"The defendant's rights were guaranteed," Abdulatif added. "She was arrested for five days for her own safety because Muslims felt that their faith had been attacked."
Reporters had been barred from entering the courthouse, with riot police deployed around the complex.
In the harsh afternoon heat of Khartoum, Gibbons was seen drinking water but witnesses said nobody ate as the trial dragged into the night.
Prosecutors asked the judge to bring five witnesses to testify, including at least one colleague from the Christian-run English private school where Gibbons had taught for less than a term since leaving England for a new life.
Lawyer Jazuli told journalists that Gibbons said in court that "it was not she who named the bear but the pupils."
"If I offended anyone, I'm sorry. If I had any intention to offend Islam I would have been better off to have done it in Britain," Jazuli quoted Gibbons as saying.
Jazuli called two witnesses -- one of Gibbons's colleagues and a pupil's parent -- to testify in her favour.
The fellow teacher, named only as Dahlia, said she did not think Gibbons "had any intention to offend the Prophet and the parent said the same thing," Jazuli said.
She was arrested on Sunday after parents at the private English school where she had taught for less than a term complained that in allowing primary schoolchildren to name a cuddly toy Mohammed, she had insulted Muslims.
Miliband had said earlier that, despite tensions between Khartoum and the West over the Darfur conflict, Gibbons should not be seen as part of a "political dispute."
Islamic Sharia law applies in Khartoum, where alcohol is banned and women are expected to dress conservatively.