Anna Bensi Says Police Have Surrounded Her and Her Mother in Havana
Cuban Christian influencer Anna Bensi said plainclothes agents and police patrols are watching the Havana building where she lives with her mother, who was convicted along with her for recording and spreading the video of a police officer. No official version of the deployment has been reported.
Key points
- Anna Bensi said that since the morning of Friday, November 6, plainclothes agents and patrols have been watching the Havana building where she lives with her mother, Caridad Silvente.
- Mother and daughter were convicted on October 1 of two years of restricted liberty for recording and spreading the video of an agent who delivered a summons in March.
- Restricted liberty prevents them from changing residence or moving to another municipality or province without judicial authorization.
- Bensi did not identify the agents, and the deployment could not be independently confirmed.
What happened
Christian influencer Anna Bensi said this Friday, November 6, that plainclothes agents and police patrols have been watching the Havana building where she lives with her mother, Caridad Silvente, since the morning. On her X account she wrote: "MI MAMÁ Y YO ESTAMOS SITIADAS DESDE LA MAÑANA" ("MY MOM AND I HAVE BEEN BESIEGED SINCE THE MORNING"). According to her account, there are plainclothes agents at all the building's exits and patrols on Calle Ancha, a nearby street.
Bensi did not identify the agents or say she had received an official notice explaining their presence. It has not been possible to independently confirm the deployment.
The complaint comes just over five weeks after the trial. On October 1, the Municipal Popular Court of East Havana, presided over by judge Zamira Marrero Morgado, found Anna Bensi and Caridad Silvente guilty of the offense of acts against personal and family privacy, under Article 393 of the Penal Code. The case was based on the recording and spreading of the video of the agent who delivered the summons in March. According to the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Press (ICLEP), the prosecuting party had requested two years of deprivation of liberty for Anna Bensi. The court imposed two years of restricted liberty on both.
According to the Cuban Observatory for Freedom of Expression (OCLE), which belongs to ICLEP, seven companions of the prosecuting officer entered the courtroom, while the accused were not allowed to enter with anyone. The observatory considered the process a reprisal for exercising freedom of expression. After the trial, Bensi said the ruling had only been communicated to them orally.
Context
It all began on March 10, when a man in plainclothes, who showed an identification card from the Revolutionary National Police (PNR), arrived at the family home in Alamar to deliver a State Security summons to Caridad Silvente. He was accompanied by another man, also not in uniform. Mother and daughter recorded the delivery with their phones and posted the video on social media.
The next day, Caridad was questioned for about two hours at a PNR unit in Alamar. According to ICLEP, which documented the case, the officers accused her of conspiracy, of being "counterrevolutionary," and of receiving orders from abroad. They also threatened her with prison and criticized her for letting her daughter speak out publicly. She left with a house-arrest measure.
On March 25, it was Anna Bensi who appeared for an interrogation. She ended up charged in the same case as her mother and was also placed under house arrest. Pressure intensified again in early July, when, according to people waiting for her outside, she was held for more than 12 hours at a police unit, where she was questioned by State Security agents. She later said she had lost track of time and did not know how long the interrogation lasted.
On July 6, court officials notified the reactivation of the criminal case. The Prosecutor's Office had shelved it in April, because the offense could only be prosecuted through a complaint by the affected person. The case was reopened after the officer shown in the video filed that complaint against mother and daughter.
On October 5, four days after the trial, Bensi reported that someone had created a fake Facebook profile with her name and photo to post and reply to other users.
What's next
The available information does not include dates for new summonses or hearings. The conviction remains in force: while the restricted liberty lasts, mother and daughter cannot change residence or move to another municipality or province without judicial authorization, and must appear when the court requires it.
It remains to be seen whether the court delivers the written sentence, as the OCLE demands, and whether the authorities respond to the siege complaint. So far there is no official response on record regarding this Friday's deployment.
FAQ
Why were Anna Bensi and her mother convicted?
A court in East Havana found them guilty on October 1 of the offense of acts against personal and family privacy, for recording and spreading the video of an agent who delivered a summons in March. They received two years of restricted liberty, not prison.
What does restricted liberty mean?
It does not send them to prison, but they cannot change residence or move to another municipality or province without judicial authorization, and they must appear when the court requires it.
Is the police siege confirmed?
Not independently. Bensi described it on X and did not identify the agents. No official version of the deployment has been reported.
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