A Christian man from Ghana has been released from a Libyan prison eight years after being imprisoned for distributing Christian literature.

Daniel Baidoo was sentenced to 25 years in prison after he picked up a parcel with biblical tracts in Arabic from a post office.

In Libya converting Muslims to another religion is illegal, although according to the US the rule is rarely enforced.

Mr Baidoo’s early release was secured by the Vice-President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, who was on an official visit to Libya.

According to the Ghana News Agency, Baidoo said that he had ordered the documents from a Christian group in America.

Libya has been ruled for 40 years by Colonel Gaddafi, who led a coup against the monarchy in 1969. Political and religious freedom in Libya is extremely limited.

Colonel Gaddafi is the current head of the African Union.