At least three people have been arrested in Cuba
following violence between dissidents and supporters of President Fidel
Castro outside a courthouse in the capital, Havana.
The clash occurred at the start of the trial of a journalist accused of
insulting a senior foreign ministry official
BBC correspondent in Havana, Tom Gibb, says such disturbances are
highly unusual in Cuba.
The scuffles in which, the two sides traded
insults, slogans and blows, lasted about half an hour and led to the
suspension of the trial.
The trouble began as about 100 people milled around
Havana's Provincial People's Court.
Sympathisers of the journalist, Mario Viera, gathered around him
carrying a small Cuban flag and chanting "Mario is telling the truth!"
Tempers flared when a government supporter started yelling at them: "We
Cubans are free in this country! Long live the Revolution! Down with the
worms!"
Black beret special police turned up with sirens wailing and dragged
away at least three anti-government protesters including a blind woman and
a doctor.
But our correspondent said the police ignored the pro-government
militants as they threw punches at their opponents and ripped the Cuban
flag from them.
The incident was the most significant outbreak of
public unrest since a rowdy demonstration outside the same
courtroom after the trial and conviction of another dissident
in August.
Constant harassment
Mr Viera, 59, who works for the illegal Cuba Verdad [Cuba
Truth] news agency, faces a maximum one-year jail term if convicted.
He is accused of having insulted Jose Peraza Chapeau, the head of the
foreign ministry's legal department, after branding him a hypocrite in an
article.
Mr Chapeau had called for a truly independent International
Criminal Court to be set up by the world community.
But Mr Viera said this was hypocritical because courts in Cuba were not
independent.
Cuba Verdad is one of several illegal opposition agencies which publish
articles largely outside the country and on the internet.
Our correspondent says they are subject to constant harassment by the
authorities who keep tight control over all media outlets on the island.
Copyright BBC