The Cuban activist Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente, known as Anna Bensi, was released this Thursday at 8:56 PM after spending nearly 11 hours detained at the National Revolutionary Police station in Alamar, East Havana.
The moment was captured in a video by David Espinosa, who followed the case from outside the station: the 21-year-old young woman came out in tears and was welcomed with applause by her loved ones, as a sign of affection, respect, and immense admiration.
Those few applause represent millions of Cubans both inside and outside the island who support the activism of this brave young woman.
Bensi had entered the station at 10:02 in the morning alongside the evangelical pastor Rolando Pérez Lora, known as the "Herald of Christ," in response to an official summons to receive an "official warning."
The citation, signed by First Lieutenant Julio Torres Suárez, even contained an error in the date, but the activist showed up on time nonetheless.
At 12:44 PM, after having spent more than two hours at the station, Espinosa reported on Facebook that they were still sitting without even being called to start the interrogation.
"If the authorities summon a citizen for a specific time, the least that is expected is that they act with respect for their time and dignity," he wrote.
The detention lasted almost 11 hours, far exceeding the legal limit of two hours established by Cuban legislation for police interviews.
At 6:10 PM, Espinosa posted a new denunciation: "No word comes to mind except 'TORTURE.' But the world can see it now."
Meanwhile, a group of close associates waiting outside the station tried to sing praises, but PNR agents ordered them to stop, arguing that it was a military zone where religious songs are not permitted.
The collective Fuera de la Caja Cuba also remained present and declared on social media: "8 hours and still waiting. Anna and Rolando are in the same situation. We are not leaving without our brothers."
In parallel, siblings Amanda Beatriz Andrés Navarro and Abel Alejandro Andrés Navarro, also members of Fuera de la Caja Cuba, were summoned at the same time to the PNR Unit on Aguilera Street, in the 10th of October municipality, but were released much earlier, according to reports on the police summons with irregularities.
The citation came days after a public confrontation on social media between Bensi and Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, a former intelligence officer and national coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, who hinted at legal actions against those accusing him of connections to the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise "El Mercadito."
Bensi responded by questioning her lifestyle, and the police summoned her just two days later.
The young activist is also under house arrest since March 25, 2026, accused along with her mother of "acts against personal privacy" for disseminating a video in which a MININT agent delivered an irregular summons at her home. She faces penalties ranging from two to five years in prison.
Upon posting the video of the release, Espinosa accompanied it with a verse from Isaiah 49:25: "Surely the captive will be rescued from the mighty, and the plunder will be taken from the tyrant; and I will defend your cause, and I will save your children."
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