Sudan Trial on Teddy Bear Named "Muhammed" Ends with Guilty Verdict

Normally I wouldn't write about something so mainstream-media-ish, but this is just so ... outrageous. I actually thought this would blow over, particularly since officials Sudan's Foreign Ministry have tried to play down the case. In fact, they initially predicted Gillian Gibbons, 54, charged with inciting religious hatred by letting her pupils name a teddy bear "Muhammad," could be released without charge.

But the case has continued, and has now gone to trial. The ridiculous details are that Gibbons, a British citizen teaching at a British-run school in Khartoum, let her students vote on what to name a teddy bear being used in a exercise about animals. Nominees included Abdullah, Hassan and Muhammad, and a vote ended with 20 out of 23 students picking Muhammed.

Apparently one of those three who did not vote for Muhammed complained, and here we are. Despite repeated conjecture that she would "be released" or "not be charged," including as I said the Sudan Foreign Ministry and the school's director, she is now on trial. The possible sentence: up to 40 lashes, six months in jail and a fine.

Word is that the country's top Muslim clerics have pressed the government to ensure that she is punished, for what appears to be a genuine misunderstanding. It's unclear how long the trial will last, but Prosecutor-General Salah Eddin Abu Zaid said the Gibbons could expect a ''swift and fair trial.''

IMHO: This woman travels from the U.K. to Sudan, sacrificing a (one would assume) comfortable life in the U.K. for a definitely less comfortable one, and this is the thanks she gets? You can bet others mulling over the same choice might have second thoughts now.

Update: She's guilty. She will avoid the lashes, but she will get 15 days in jail and be deported.