Police in Cuba have detained the former hunger striker Guillermo Fariñas on the anniversary of the death of a fellow dissident.

Fariñas had apparently been shouting anti-government remarks to mark the death of Orlando Zapata who died last year.

Meanwhile loyalists to Cuba’s communist government heckled and chanted pro-Castro slogans. They targeted the unofficial headquarters of the political prisoner supporters known as the Ladies in White.

The death of Orlando Zapata after an 11-week hunger strike over conditions for prisoners of conscience provoked international criticism of the Cuban government.