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A 53-year-old Israeli Olympic athlete arrested in northern Ethiopia on fraud charges has been released on bail.

Ethiopian-born Ayele Seteng, Israel's only runner in the Beijing Olympic marathon next month, was arrested for allegedly taking money from two individuals saying he would arrange their travel to Israel, police said.

Israel requested the athlete's release so he could compete in Beijing.

"Ayele Seteng was released on bail on Friday after a brief court appearance in Gondar," said the regional prosecutor, who declined to be named.

"The court considered the request by Israel for his release and the guarantee offered to return him at the end of the Olympic Games," the prosecutor said.

The official added that Ayele, who finished 20th in the Athens marathon in 2004, would fly to Addis Ababa on Friday.

The Jewish state began bringing Ethiopian Jews to Israel in the early 1980s. Tens of thousands of Ethiopians are living there, but thousands more, many hard put to prove their Jewish descent, still await permission to move to Israel.

Reuters