[1] Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye were released in September 2012 as part of a mass pardon, and returned home to Sweden.
The European Union (EU) raised concerns about freedom of media in Ethiopia as a result of the case.
Criticism expressed that Bildt did not put sufficient pressure on the Ethiopian government to release Schibbye and Persson.
They were detained during a clash with rebels in Ogaden, eastern Ethiopia's ethnic Somali region, where there has been a fight for independence since the 1970s.
[5] On 27 December 2011, a court in Ethiopia sentenced the Swedish journalists to 11 years in prison on charges of supporting terrorism after they illegally entered the country with Somalis.
They were in the region to investigate activities in the Ogaden of an oil explorer which in 2009 bought licenses in Ethiopia from Lundin Petroleum.
[6] According to Reuters the U.N. called for an independent investigation into allegations of human rights abuses by Ethiopian forces in the Ogaden region already some years ago.
[8] Ethiopia says the Ogaden basin may contain 4tn cubic feet of natural gas and major oil deposits.
The government source said the pardon was approved before Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's death on August 20, 2012.
Addis Ababa often grants mass pardons and announces the decisions ahead of major holidays, in particular the Ethiopian New Year which is celebrated on September 11.