VIDEO. Colombia: the farewell of Victor Escobar, euthanized after two years of battle with the courts

To have "a dignified death", Victor Escobar had been fighting for two years.

He became, this Friday, the first person in Colombia to die by euthanasia, while he did not have a terminal illness.

He suffered from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which made it impossible for him to breathe on his own.

“Two years and months ago, I thought about asking for euthanasia because I was already feeling very bad.

I felt that my lungs were not responding, so it was from that moment ”, explained the sixty-year-old in great pain to AFP.

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This is not the first euthanasia in the country, but previously it was only reserved for terminally ill patients.

Since 2015, at least 178 people have undergone the euthanasia procedure in the country, according to Colombian legal rights group DescLAB.

Victor Escobar fought, accompanied by his lawyer, faced with the refusal of doctors, clinics and courts to be entitled to it.

“Victor suffered a lot, but in the end he won the battle,” his lawyer concludes.

A few hours, before dying, the Colombian declared that he wanted his death by euthanasia "to open doors to other patients".