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29 January 2011
Last updated at 00:27 ET
Police in Cuba have released leading dissident Guillermo Farinas after his third arrest in 48 hours.
His mother said his latest arrest had come with around 10 other dissidents while laying flowers at a monument to the Cuba's independence leader Jose Marti.
He was later freed after a medical checkup, complaining of chest pain.
Farinas gained international attention in 2010 when he came close to death after staging a 134-day hunger strike.
"His health is delicate, and doctors have recommended rest," his mother, Alicia Hernandez, said.
Continuing opposition
On Wednesday, Mr Farinas had been detained for six hours after he and at least 17 other people tried to prevent the eviction of a woman and her two children from a disused property in Santa Clara.
On Thursday, Mr Farinas had been arrested with at least 10 other people near the home of another local opposition figure, Idania Yanez Contreras, and held overnight.
After his release on Friday, Mr Farinas told the Reuters news agency his arrests were a sign that the Cuban government was stepping up its "harassment of the opposition".
He said police had told him that because of "special political circumstances" the dissidents would not be allowed to conduct any protests.
"They're afraid people may take to the streets," he told Reuters.
Earlier in 2010, he came close to death during his hunger strike in protest at the death of fellow dissident Orlando Zapata.
He ended the protest in July, when Cuban President Raul Castro authorised the release of 52 of the island's most prominent prisoners of conscience.
Mr Farinas has spent eleven-and-a-half years in prison for a variety of offences and has staged more than 20 hunger strikes.
The EU awarded him its Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in December.
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His mother said his latest arrest had come with around 10 other dissidents while laying flowers at a monument to the Cuba's independence leader Jose Marti.
He was later freed after a medical checkup, complaining of chest pain.
Farinas gained international attention in 2010 when he came close to death after staging a 134-day hunger strike.
"His health is delicate, and doctors have recommended rest," his mother, Alicia Hernandez, said.
Continuing opposition
On Wednesday, Mr Farinas had been detained for six hours after he and at least 17 other people tried to prevent the eviction of a woman and her two children from a disused property in Santa Clara.
On Thursday, Mr Farinas had been arrested with at least 10 other people near the home of another local opposition figure, Idania Yanez Contreras, and held overnight.
After his release on Friday, Mr Farinas told the Reuters news agency his arrests were a sign that the Cuban government was stepping up its "harassment of the opposition".
He said police had told him that because of "special political circumstances" the dissidents would not be allowed to conduct any protests.
"They're afraid people may take to the streets," he told Reuters.
Earlier in 2010, he came close to death during his hunger strike in protest at the death of fellow dissident Orlando Zapata.
He ended the protest in July, when Cuban President Raul Castro authorised the release of 52 of the island's most prominent prisoners of conscience.
Mr Farinas has spent eleven-and-a-half years in prison for a variety of offences and has staged more than 20 hunger strikes.
The EU awarded him its Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in December.
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