Journalist flees Ecuador after clash with leader

[naaman fletcher]

QUITO, Ecuador – An Ecuadorean journalist accused of libeling President Rafael Correa has fled the country.

Emilio Palacio issued a letter from Miami on Sunday saying he feared for his safety because of new pressures from what he called "the dictatorship."

The alleged pressures include a new criminal charge for referring to a state television journalist as a fascist. Palacios says that "one would have to be blind not to understand that they want me behind bars."

In July, a court sentenced Palacios and three executives of the newspaper Universo to three years in prison and $42 million in fines for libeling the president. They are appealing.

http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110828/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_ecuador_convicted_journalist