Doctor tells of nightmare facing Sudan teddy teacher (From This is Hampshire)

Doctor tells of nightmare facing Sudan teddy teacher

3:30pm Saturday 1st December 2007

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A SOUTHAMPTON woman has told of the nightmare conditions in the Sudanese prison where British teacher Gillian Gibbons is being held.

Dr Amal Sidahmed was a former inmate in Omdurman, where Mrs Gibbons, 54, has been jailed for allowing children in her class to name a teddy bear Mohammed.

The 50-year-old, who now lives in Southampton was kept in the centre for five months in the early 1990s for her political beliefs.

The Sudanese exile claims that sexual abuse by the guards was known to have taken place and that cells were overcrowded and riddled with disease.

She also gave an insight into the culture of beatings and intimidation that took place within the penal system.

"On one occasion I was kept in a room while all the other people left. I could hear the beatings in the other room. It was really awful to hear. You could imagine what they were doing. You heard the men crying, you heard the beating," Dr Sidahmed said.

While in prison, other inmates would approach her for medical advice after allegedly being raped by policemen.

She said: "After I had been in prison for a few days, some women came to me and said they had been raped repeatedly in the police cells before being sent to the prison."

In the prison itself, some of the guards would abuse the women, she said, demanding sexual favours in return for commodities such as soap and food.

In September, Mrs Gibbons let her class of primary school pupils at Unity High School name the teddy bear Mohammed during a study of animals and habitats. She was jailed for 15 days earlier this week.

Yesterday Britain pursued diplomatic moves to free the teacher.

The Foreign Office said consular staff had visited Mrs Gibbons in prison and she was in good health.

A spokeswoman said British officials were pursuing diplomatic contacts "both in London and in Khartoum and we continue to search for a swift resolution".

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