The Cuban court confirmed that the activist Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente, known as Anna Bensi, and her mother, Caridad Silvente, will be tried for recording and posting on social media the visit of a MININT agent to their home. Bensi herself announced this on her Facebook account this Tuesday, where she shared the official notification.
"The court has already confirmed that my mother and I will be taken to trial, accused of a crime against personal and family privacy. The complaint was allegedly filed by the police officer who considers himself aggrieved, who showed up at our apartment on March 10 of this year to leave a summons from State Security in my mother's name. In light of this situation, we decided to record and publish the moment on social media as a measure for our safety," wrote the 21-year-old.
The origin of the process dates back to March 10, when the MININT officer Yoel Leodán Rabaza Ramos appeared at both of their apartments to deliver a summons from State Security. Mother and daughter decided to document the moment and share it on social media as a protective measure, an action that the authorities turned into the basis for a criminal charge.
The accusations are based on Article 393 of the Cuban Penal Code, which classifies "acts against personal and family privacy" with penalties ranging from two to five years in prison.
The case had an initial closure in April: the defense attorney Roberto Ortega Ortiz succeeded in having it dismissed by arguing that the offense can only be prosecuted through a direct complaint from the victim, not through a police report. However, Agent Rabaza Ramos filed a direct complaint in July, which reactivated the proceedings and invalidated the defense's argument.
Since March 25, Anna Bensi and her mother have been under house arrest with a prohibition on leaving the country.
The harassment against the activist intensified in early July, when she was held for almost 11 hours at the Alamar station of the National Revolutionary Police. As she recounted, the aim was to prevent her from attending the celebration of Independence Day of the United States at the residence of the chargé d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy, Mike Hammer. "They released me at nine in the evening as if to say we’re sure you won’t be able to go. A total injustice," she stated after being freed.
During that interrogation, an instructor from the National Revolutionary Police bluntly threatened her: "In your videos, you have incited, and if that incitement comes to fruition, you are committing a crime and we will put you in jail." Summarizing what happened, Bensi was straightforward: "In the end, the interrogation can be summarized as 'shut up or create different content'."
The organization Cubalex has argued that filming public officials while they are performing their duties is not a crime, but rather a citizen's right recognized by the Cuban Constitution of 2019. The case transcended the borders of the Island and was reported by international media, including the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. Hammer described the situation of Bensi and other activists who were prevented from attending the July 4 event as "unacceptable."
Anna Bensi is a member of the youth collective Fuera de la Caja Cuba, founded in early 2026 in El Cerro, Havana, which brings together young people who use art, theater, and social media to challenge state indoctrination. Marco Rubio sent messages of support to the activist and the members of the collective in May.
Caridad Silvente, far from being intimidated, summarized the stance of both after the detention in July: "I feel stronger to continue with this. This proves that they are a dictatorship, that it is a regime that seeks to obscure, that seeks to silence reality."
Related videos:
Filed under: