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Cuba dissidents arrested after Oswaldo Paya's funeral | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Cuban police have arrested at least seven dissidents after the funeral of prominent activist Oswaldo Paya, who died in a car crash on Sunday. | |
Those detained include leading dissident Guillermo Farinas. | |
At a service for Mr Paya in Havana on Monday his son told the BBC that he believed his father's car was forced off the road. | |
The official account is that the driver lost control and hit a tree as it drove near the eastern city of Bayano. | |
Dissidents were picked up for questioning by plain-clothes police who had been deployed outside the church where the mass was held. | |
Guillermo Farinas is known for staging hunger strikes that drew attention to the plight of political prisoners in Cuba. In 2010 he was awarded the Sakharov Prize - the European Union's human rights award - which had gone to Mr Paya in 2002. | Guillermo Farinas is known for staging hunger strikes that drew attention to the plight of political prisoners in Cuba. In 2010 he was awarded the Sakharov Prize - the European Union's human rights award - which had gone to Mr Paya in 2002. |
Reports say he was arrested along with other activists as they emerged from the church funeral service to go to the cemetery shouting slogans against the government. | |
Some of Cuba's most prominent human rights campaigners have vowed to continue fighting for democracy on the Communist island, despite the death of Mr Paya. | |
'Death threats' | 'Death threats' |
A fellow activist, 31-year-old Harold Cepero, was also killed in the accident, in eastern Granma province. | |
Two other people - one Swede and one Spaniard - were injured but have now left hospital. | Two other people - one Swede and one Spaniard - were injured but have now left hospital. |
Mr Paya's son, also called Oswaldo, alleges that the two Europeans said they had been forced off the road by a truck that rammed their car repeatedly. | Mr Paya's son, also called Oswaldo, alleges that the two Europeans said they had been forced off the road by a truck that rammed their car repeatedly. |
However, they not yet made any public statement and the Swedish embassy said it could not comment on the reports. | However, they not yet made any public statement and the Swedish embassy said it could not comment on the reports. |
Cuba's roads, even the motorways, are notoriously ill-kept and dangerous. | Cuba's roads, even the motorways, are notoriously ill-kept and dangerous. |
"My father has had multiple death threats," Mr Paya's son said. "And they increased after the Varela Project. That was the strongest pressure the government had faced in 50 years." | "My father has had multiple death threats," Mr Paya's son said. "And they increased after the Varela Project. That was the strongest pressure the government had faced in 50 years." |
Mr Paya, 60, is best-known as the founder of the project - a campaign begun in 1998 to gather signatures in support of a referendum on laws guaranteeing civil rights. | Mr Paya, 60, is best-known as the founder of the project - a campaign begun in 1998 to gather signatures in support of a referendum on laws guaranteeing civil rights. |
He had become a critic of the Communist government as a teenager, and in 2002 he won the Sakharov Prize for his work with the project. | He had become a critic of the Communist government as a teenager, and in 2002 he won the Sakharov Prize for his work with the project. |
In May 2002, he presented Cuba's National Assembly with a petition of more than 10,000 signatures calling for an end to four decades of one-party rule. | In May 2002, he presented Cuba's National Assembly with a petition of more than 10,000 signatures calling for an end to four decades of one-party rule. |
He has since repeatedly delivered petitions to the body, including one in 2007 calling for an amnesty for non-violent political prisoners. | He has since repeatedly delivered petitions to the body, including one in 2007 calling for an amnesty for non-violent political prisoners. |
The Cuban government described him as an agent of the United States who was working to undermine the country's revolution. | The Cuban government described him as an agent of the United States who was working to undermine the country's revolution. |
But he did not keep close links with the anti-Castro opposition in the US, which has criticised him for being too moderate. | But he did not keep close links with the anti-Castro opposition in the US, which has criticised him for being too moderate. |