SUDAN:The Sudanese ambassador to London was summoned by the British foreign minister last night to explain why a primary school teacher had been charged over a teddy bear named Muhammad.
Gillian Gibbons (54) is due to appear in court today after being accused of blasphemy and faces a sentence of 40 lashes, one year in prison or a fine.
Last night she was formally charged with insulting religion, inciting religious hatred and contempt of religious beliefs.
A spokesman for British prime minister Gordon Brown said: "The first step is to summon the Sudanese ambassador so we can get a clear explanation for the rationale behind these charges and I think we will consider our response in the light of that."
Ms Gibbons was arrested on Sunday afternoon at Unity High School, in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, where she had been teaching since August.
Friends and colleagues insist she made a naive mistake.
They say she had asked her class of seven-year-olds to choose their favourite name for the bear and 20 of the 23 had voted for Muhammad after a popular pupil at the school - not Islam's most revered prophet.
Ms Gibbons yesterday met British consular officials in the prison where she is being held. She looked tired and pale and she was escorted across the dusty courtyard with a blanket across her shoulders.
Her colleagues had hoped the matter would never reach court and thought she might be freed on Saturday, but yesterday Sudanese public opinion appeared to be turning against her, undermining the chances of a deal to free the former deputy head teacher from Liverpool.
A religious sect distributed leaflets urging followers to stage a mass demonstration after Friday prayers.
"What has been done by this infidel lady is considered a matter of contempt and an insult to Muslims' feelings and also the pollution of children's mentality as an attempt to wipe their identity," said the leaflet handed out by a moderate suffi group at Khartoum's Great Mosque.
Sudanese legal scholars said an increase in rhetoric would harm the chances of a swift resolution. Prof Eltyeb Hag Ateya, director of the University of Khartoum's peace research institute, said the president would not want to be seen to back down in the face of western pressure.
"One of the main criticisms of the government is that they are giving too much away to foreigners," he said.
"If imams at Friday prayers turn this into a much bigger thing, then no one will listen to the facts."