Article: How I freed the teddybear teacher; Lucky escape ... Gillian Gibbons, left, safely back at Heathrow with Baroness Warsi. Above: Protesters demanding blood in Khartoum Sealed Deal...Baroness Warsi and and Lord Ahmed meet President Omar al-Bashir.

Byline: Baroness Warsi

Last Saturday evening I sat in the lobby of the Khartoum Hilton, tired,depressed, shattered. I had not slept for two days and was no closer tosecuring the release of Gillian Gibbons from a Sudanese jail.

Lord (Nazir) Ahmed and I had flown out with great hopes but were gettingnowhere. And the stakes were now higher than ever, for if we didn't get her outimmediately, pressure would grow on the streets of Khartoum for a retrial and aharsher sentence. Some protesters were demanding a public flogging and even herexecution.

We cancelled our homeward flights, booked for Monday morning. We would stayuntil Gillian was free.

My first reaction upon ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!