The People's Municipal Court of Havana del Este found guilty this Thursday the content creator Anna Bensi and her mother, Caridad Silvente, and imposed on each of them two years of restriction of liberty for the crime of "acts against personal and family privacy."
“They found my mom and me guilty”, Bensi confirmed after the trial concluded, in statements to journalists from the media who awaited alongside family, friends, activists, and others outside the courthouse in Cojímar.
"The court concluded that my mother and I were guilty of the crime and [...] sentenced each of us to two years of restricted freedom," she explained.
Mother and daughter will now have to wait for the written ruling, which will outline the reasons for the decision and the terms of the penalty announced verbally.
Bensi described the outcome as “an injustice”, but insisted that he would maintain his stance. “God is in control,” he expressed after learning the verdict.
From a demand for apologies to a condemnation
The process dates back to March 10 of this year, when the sub-official of the Ministry of the Interior Yoel Leodán Rabaza Ramos went to the home of both in Havana to deliver a summons from State Security.
Bensi and his mother recorded the meeting and later shared the images on social media. That video ultimately became the basis for the accusation of "acts against personal and family privacy."
On March 25, both were formally charged and placed under house arrest, in addition to receiving a travel ban. The case was initially archived, but a complaint filed later by the agent reopened the process in July.
After hearing the verdict, Bensi revealed that the police officer had initially demanded a public apology in video format.
"The officer, who feels offended, as he wanted a video of public apology [...] to regain his morale," he reported.
According to the young woman, the plaintiff's lawyer ultimately requested a harsher penalty: two years of imprisonment for her and two years of restriction of liberty for her mother.
The court did not grant the request for imprisonment against Bensi and announced a two-year restriction of liberty sanction for both.
A trial under watch and with signs of solidarity
The process, initially scheduled for September 17, was postponed until this Thursday and was presided over by Judge Zamira Marrero Morgado, who has been pointed out by activists for having been part of a court that judged demonstrators from July 11.
Before entering the courtroom, Bensi stated: “We are not criminals” and expressed that she did not expect a fair trial. The young woman arrived to applause from the crowd gathered outside the court.
The day was also marked by a strong operation by the authorities. The evangelical pastor Rolando Fidel Pérez Lora, known as the "Herald of Christ," was arrested while heading to the court, just like the Christian activist David Espinosa Martínez. Other activists reported surveillance and restrictions on leaving their homes.
The case prompted a broad mobilization of support in the days leading up to it. The Baptist Convention of Western Cuba expressed solidarity with the mother and daughter, while Cuban artists and influencers, including La Diosa, Claudia Artiles, Claudia Valdés, and Kristoff Kriollo, shared messages of support.
The Cuban-American congressman Carlos Giménez also publicly denounced the process and called for the unconditional freedom of both.
The legal advisory organization Cubalex had argued from the outset of the case that recording the actions of police officers constitutes a legitimate exercise of citizen rights, an interpretation contrary to the one that ultimately led to the conviction.
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