The members of the youth project Fuera de la Caja Cuba reported on Thursday that State Security agents and police are maintaining surveillance outside their homes and have prevented them from leaving during the hours leading up to the trial against Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente, known as Anna Bensi, and her mother, Caridad Silvente.
“With the aim of restricting our freedom of movement and preventing us from attending Anna Bensi’s trial, the repressive apparatus has placed a patrol with several officers at the corner of each of our homes,” the collective stated in a post shared on their X account.
In the continuation of the thread, the young people explained that, upon approaching the agents of State Security and the police deployed near their homes, they were informed that they could not leave their houses until after 11:00 AM.
Fuera de la Caja assured that it was not an isolated incident and that the situation had been occurring since Wednesday with several of its members, as well as friends, journalists, and close acquaintances.
In later messages, the group stated that what happened was, in their opinion, "yet another demonstration of their fear of the truth," and added: "We have committed no crime, beyond simply thinking differently."
The group also reported that the Christian activist David Espinosa Martínez has allegedly been detained and urged for the information to be spread.
The trial against Anna Bensi and her mother, Caridad Silvente is scheduled for this Thursday, after the hearing originally planned for September 17 was postponed.
Both are accused of allegedly "acts against personal and family privacy, one’s own image and voice, the identity of another person, and their data" after having recorded and published on social media the visit of an agent from the Ministry of the Interior who came to their home to deliver a summons from State Security.
Since March, they have been under house arrest and are prohibited from leaving the country. The date of the hearing was communicated by the court to the attorney representing both of them.
The process originated after mother and daughter shared the video of the encounter with the MININT subofficer Yoel Leodán Rabaza Ramos.
The case was initially archived, but it was reopened after a complaint was filed.
According to Bensi, the agent also requested that both of them record and publish a video of apology, while the plaintiff's attorney would have requested two years of limited freedom for each of them.
Days before the trial, Bensi reiterated that he does not intend to abandon his publications or remain silent because of the legal proceedings.
"I will not be silenced", she stated when referring to the pressures and restrictions she has faced in recent months.
The day before the hearing, the Cuban nun Sor Nadieska Almeida publicly expressed her support for the mother and daughter and called on Christians to stand by them with prayer and physical presence.
Almeida called for the unity to be visible and the support surrounding both of them.
The Baptist Convention Association of Western Cuba also expressed its solidarity with Bensi and Silvente and called for respect for due process, freedom of expression, religious freedom, and the dignity of both individuals.
The organization assured that it would remain attentive to the developments of the trial.
The process will be presided over by Zamira Marrero Morgado, president of the Municipal People's Court of Havana del Este.
According to information released before the hearing, Marrero had previously rejected a defense request to annul the trial, based on the argument that the alleged facts would not constitute a crime.
Activists have also pointed out Marrero for his involvement in processes related to the protests of July 11, 2021.
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