Ethiopia drops terror, other charges against Swedish doctor
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The state-owned Ethiopian News Agency reports that terrorism and other charges have been dropped against a Swedish doctor who had been accused of corruption and orchestrating a prison fire.
Prominent blogger Befkadu Hailu confirms to The Associated Press that the Ethiopian-born Fikru Maru has been freed.
The Swedish foreign ministry in March raised Fikru's case with Ethiopia's ambassador. The Swedish Embassy declined to comment Friday.
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Fikru's lawyer in Sweden, Hans Bagner, tells public Swedish radio that "It's about time. It has been a long and very strenuous exercise."
The doctor was arrested in 2013 after a years-long dispute over equipment for his cardiology clinic. The terrorism charge came years later after he and others were accused of starting a fire in the prison where they were held.