Police smash Cuban wives' protest

Uniformed police and plainclothes security agents blocked a pavement along Havana's Fifth Avenue, stopping five members of the Damas de Blanco, or Ladies in White, from following their traditional march route.

Ms Bertha Soler, one of the group's leaders, said: "There was a mob of government people shouting things." Ms Soler's husband, Angel Moya, is in jail for dissident activities.

The Ladies in White traditionally attend Sunday Mass at Santa Rica Church in the Miramar neighbourhood, then march silently down the boulevard to demand the release of their relatives – political activists, community organisers and independent journalists.

They were rounded up during a government crackdown on dissent in 2003 and sentenced to lengthy prison terms for allegedly conspiring with Washington to topple Cuba's communist system.

They have marched every Sunday for years and are usually allowed to do so without incident.