The Popular Municipal Court of Havana del Este convicted Anna Bensi and her mother, Caridad Silvente, this Thursday, sentencing each to two years of restrictions on freedom for the crime of "acts against personal and family privacy," after recording and sharing a meeting with an agent from the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) on social media.
"Mom and I were found guilty of the crime we were being accused of, an alleged crime," Bensi confirmed in a recorded statement at the courthouse in Cojímar, where family, friends, and media were waiting for the outcome of the proceedings.
The young woman described the verdict as "an injustice."
The ruling was communicated verbally, and mother and daughter will now have to wait for the written sentence to understand the grounds and terms of the court's decision.
Two years for each one
The process originated on March 10, 2026, when the officer Yoel Leodán Rabaza Ramos went to the home of both to deliver a summons from State Security.
Mother and daughter recorded the meeting and subsequently shared the images on social media. On March 25, they were charged and placed under house arrest, in addition to receiving a travel ban.
The case was initially archived, but was reopened in July following a complaint filed by the agent himself.
According to Bensi after the trial, Rabaza Ramos had initially requested “a video of public apology to restore his honor”.
The legal representative of the complainant then requested a harsher penalty: two years of imprisonment for Anna Bensi and two years of restricted liberty for her mother.
The court did not grant the request for imprisonment against the young woman and ultimately imposed the same sanction of two years of limited freedom on both.
The process was
Arrests and heavy surveillance during the trial
The day was marked by a large operation from the authorities, with arrests, surveillance, and restrictions reported by activists attempting to reach the court.
The evangelical pastor Rolando Fidel Pérez Lora, known as "Herald of Christ," was arrested while trying to attend the trial. Also, Christian activist David Espinosa Martínez was arrested, while other activists reported surveillance and restrictions on leaving their homes.
Despite the operation, Bensi arrived at the court to applause from those who managed to gather at the site.
"We are not criminals," he declared before entering.
The process sparked numerous displays of solidarity both inside and outside of Cuba. The Western Baptist Convention of Cuba, artists such as La Diosa, Claudia Artiles, and Haydée Milanés, as well as Cuban-American congress members Carlos Giménez and María Elvira Salazar, spoke out on the matter.
Salazar described the process as "a desperate act of a dying dictatorship that seeks to intimidate and silence the Cuban people."
The United States Embassy in Cuba also reacted this Thursday with a message of support: "Thinking differently is not a crime."
For its part, the legal advisory organization Cubalex has argued from the beginning of the process that recording the actions of police officers constitutes a legitimate exercise of citizens' rights.
After hearing the verdict, Bensi thanked those who supported her during the trial and said she will now await the written sentence. "God is in control," she stated.
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