Cuban influencer and mother tried for posting video of interior officer

On Thursday, the Municipal People's Court of East Havana began proceedings against 21-year-old content creator Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente, known as Anna Bensi, and her mother Caridad Silvente. They are accused under Article 393 of Cuba’s Penal Code of infringing personal and family privacy after recording and uploading a video that showed Interior Ministry officer Yoel Leodán Rabaza Ramos, in civilian attire, delivering a State Security summons to their home on March 10.

Both women have been placed under house arrest since their formal charge on March 25 and are prohibited from leaving the country. The prosecutor representing Rabaza is requesting two years of restricted liberty for each defendant and a publicly aired video in which they retract their statements and apologize. Cuba’s National Revolutionary Police defended the prosecution, citing privacy protections, while the legal rights group Cubalex contends the law is misapplied when a citizen records a public official performing official duties. The case has drawn attention from U.S. officials, including a visit by embassy chief Mike Hammer, and criticism from U.S. Representative María Elvira Salazar and the Western Baptist Convention of Cuba, which called for respect of due process and freedom of expression.