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Yonas Fikre (left) a Muslim American from Portland, talks to media with his attorney, Thomas Nelson, in Stockholm, Sweden, about his detention.

(The Associated Press/File)

Federal prosecutors have dropped charges against a former Portland man who claims he was tortured overseas at the behest of the Portland office of the FBI.

Prosecutors had charged Yonas Fikre in May 2012 with one count of conspiracy and one count of structuring for an alleged plot to conceal from U.S. authorities the transfer of tens of thousands of dollars to the United Arab Emirates. Prosecutors in San Diego also charged his brother and a Seattle businessman who handled money transfers.

The charges came less than two weeks after Fikre went public with his allegations that he was held and tortured for 106 days by United Arab Emirates authorities. Among other accusations, Fikre said the torture came after he refused efforts by FBI agents to get him to spy on people at the Southwest Portland mosque where he often prayed, Masjed As-Saber.

Fikre, who has applied for asylum in Stockholm, Sweden, has since sued the FBI. He is deciding whether to return to the United States, said his attorney, Thomas Nelson.

Prosecutors submitted their request to dismiss the charges and to rescind the arrest warrant late last month. A judge in U.S. District Court in San Diego ordered the dismissal last Friday.

Fikre's brother pleaded guilty last month to one count of failing to file a tax return. Prosecutors said in court filings that they would dismiss charges against the other defendant, Seattle businessman Abrehaile Haile, if he abides by terms of an agreement to complete community service and refrain from working in a money-service business.

Nelson, Fikre's attorney, questioned the government's decision to bring charges against Fikre in the first place. "These were just three guys talking together ... about how to start a business in the United Arab Emirates," Nelson said. "It wasn't about importing missiles."

-- Helen Jung