Havana court sentences Anna Bensi and her mother to two years of restricted liberty

October 2, 2026

On October 1, 2026, the Municipal People’s Court of East Havana found content creator Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente, known as Anna Bensi, and her mother, Caridad Silvente, guilty of “acts against personal and family privacy,” DW and the Miami Herald reported. Each received two years of restricted liberty, a penalty that, according to those outlets, does not mean prison but does impose limits such as a ban on leaving the country.

The case dates to March 10, 2026, when a plainclothes Interior Ministry noncommissioned officer went to the family home to deliver a summons. Benítez recorded the encounter and posted it online; the officer later filed a complaint over the nonconsensual sharing of his image. Outside court, Bensi told reporters, “This really is an injustice.” Her lawyer, Roberto Ortega, told EFE — as cited by DW — that a written ruling would follow in about 15 days, after which an appeal window would open.

Groups including Cubalex and Justicia 11J described the case as a curb on free expression; the Interior Ministry, in a social-media and state-media message that did not name the case file, said “recording is not a crime” but “disseminating without consent can be.” Dozens of people, many linked to religious communities, waited outside the courthouse under a heavy security presence, both outlets reported.