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Threatened after posting video on YouTube, Colombian journalist flees

A Colombian activist and journalist who received death threats after uploading a video to YouTube showing police violence has decided to flee from his native city of Huila, Colombia, reported the Press Freedom Foundation (FLIP in Spanish).

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Bladimir Sánchez Espitia recorded a video showing violent police treatment of demonstrators protesting the construction of an hydroelectric dam in Huila.

Sánchez told Reporters Without Borders that he decided to temporarily flee after being accused of "acting against security forces" and of being paid by guerrillas.

The YouTube video, titled “The video the Colombian government doesn't want us to see,” has logged more than 500,000 views and is the most-viewed citizen journalism video in the country's history, according to the news site Publimetro.