Former "Free Press" editor jailed 90 days for criminal libel

ACCRA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - A court in Ghana on Thursday sentenced a local journalist to 90 days in prison for libelling the West African nation's First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, court officials said.

Eben Quarcoo was editor of the Free Press when, in 1994, it alleged that President Jerry Rawlings's wife had smuggled gold and drugs on unannounced foreign trips.

An Accra circuit court presided over by Victor Ofoe handed down the jail sentence plus a fine of 1.5 million cedis ($460).

If the fine is not paid, Quarcoo's spell in jail could stretch to two years. He has not yet decided whether to appeal, his lawyers said.

Martin Amidu, the deputy attorney general who led the prosecution, said stiffer punishment should have been handed down to someone who had accused ``a decent Ghanaian of dealing in narcotic drugs without evidence.''

($ - 3,250)