Three dissidents opposed to Cuba's communist regime have been arrested as they approached Pope Francis shouting "Freedom!" as he arrived to deliver mass at Revolution Square in Havana.
An AFP photographer said the activists - two men and a woman - yelled anti-government slogans and resisted by falling to the ground as they were arrested on Sunday.
They had tried to get near the white popemobile carrying Francis to the mass, the largest event of his trip to Cuba.
The pope, who was busy grasping the outstretched hands of well-wishers on the other side of his vehicle, did not appear to notice the incident.
The dissidents belong to the Cuban Patriotic Union, said its leader, Jose Daniel Ferrer.
"They went to the square to condemn repression," he told AFP.
He said there were in fact four activists arrested, two men and two women, and that they were taken to a nearby police station.
In recent years, Cuban authorities have typically released dissidents after a few hours following their arrest.
The one-party communist state bans opposition groups and routinely arrests dissidents who try to protest.
Several leading dissidents have criticised the pope for turning a deaf ear to their requests to meet with him during his visit.
AFP
