Anna Bensi published a video on Facebook in which she reacted to the sentence she received days earlier, rejecting any image of defeat and reaffirming her stance against the Cuban regime.
The People's Municipal Court of Havana del Este found Bensi and her mother, Caridad Silvente, guilty on October 1 for the crime of "acts against personal and family privacy."
Both received two years of restricted liberty after recording and disseminating on social media the moment when a State Security agent delivered a summons to their home in March of this year. That original video surpassed 1.7 million views on Facebook.
In her public response, Bensi ironically referred to those who criticized her demeanor during the trial, pointing out that she "didn't walk like a defendant."
How did you expect to see me? Bitter? Downcast? Disheveled? Sad? Distressed? Ripped? No," she said. "I wasn't going to give you that satisfaction, and I'm not going to give it to you. Head held high, trusting in God, with the greatest faith and stronger convictions than ever."
The young woman also questioned the official version that the process was not politically motivated. “If I was supposedly not being judged for my beliefs but for posting on social media the moment when a police officer delivered a summons from State Security, then why were my fellow believers and my friends—who are known to support the freedom of Cuba—detained?” she asked.
On the day of the trial, the evangelical pastor Rolando Fidel Pérez Lora —known as "Herald of Christ"— and the Christian activist David Espinosa Martínez were arrested while attempting to go to court. Only one witness for the defense managed to enter the courtroom.
Bensi expressed gratitude in the video for the support from churches, religious conventions, media outlets, artists, and influencers who backed his case, emphasizing that this solidarity goes beyond his personal situation. "Supporting this case and denouncing this injustice is also advocating for the freedom of Cuba," he stated.
He also took the opportunity to call for attention to other political prisoners, particularly the members of the audiovisual project El4tico.
«The boys from El4tico remain unjustly imprisoned. We all know they are two innocent men, who are facing planned sentences of 8 and 10 years in prison respectively,» denounced Bensi, referring to Ernesto Ricardo Medina and Kamil Zayas Pérez, detained in February of this year.
The trial against Bensi was presided over by Judge Zamira Marrero Morgado, pointed out by activists for having been part of courts that judged protesters from the 11J.
At the end of the video, Bensi also warned about fake profiles circulating in his name on Facebook.
"I find it quite shameful to remain silent while all kinds of injustices are committed before our eyes simply because we do not agree with the lying, humiliating, and diabolical discourse of the dictatorship in our country," said the young woman. She concluded her message by demanding, "Freedom for all political prisoners and freedom for Cuba."
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