A Swedish doctor who had been imprisoned in his native Ethiopia on charges of corruption and terrorism has been freed.

Fikru Maru tells Swedish broadcaster SVT that "it's great to be out in the fresh air." State-owned media last week reported that Ethiopia had dropped the charges.

Daughter Emy Maru, who paid daily visits to her father in the capital, Addis Ababa, told SVT on Tuesday that "I have just met with Dad. He has been freed."

It is not immediately clear when Maru will return to Sweden. He was arrested in 2013 after a years-long dispute over equipment for his cardiology clinic in Addis Ababa.

The terrorism charge came years later when he and others were accused of starting a deadly fire in the prison where they were held.