Liveleak.com a popular internet site said on Saturday that it had withdrawn anti-Islam film “Fitna” by far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders following threats to its staff.

The staff saif in their website, “Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature & some ill informed reports from certain corners of the British media that could directly lead to the harm of some of our staff, Liveleak.com has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers. This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net but we have to place the safety and well being of our staff above all else. We would like to thank the thousands of people, from all backgrounds and religions, who gave us their support. They realised LiveLeak.com is a vehicle for many opinions and not just for the support of one. Perhaps there is still hope that this situation may produce a discussion that could benefit and educate all of us as to how we can accept one another’s culture. We stood for what we believe in, the ability to be heard, but in the end the price was too high”. The staff has written this statement in their website here

An official said that it was “terrible that these threats deal a serious blow to freedom of expression”.

Fitna can still be seen on other websites, including youtube.com. The Fitna video, which features violent imagery of terror attacks in New York & Madrid intertwined with Koranic texts, was posted on the Internet on Thursday.