Havana Court Fabricates Evidence to Convict Anna Bensi: Agent's Address Does Not Appear on ID Card
The court justified the two-year sentence imposed on Anna Bensi by claiming that video footage showed the home address of a MININT agent, data that does not appear on the ID card.
Havana Court Justifies Sentence with Data That Does Not Appear in the Images
The Municipal People's Court of Habana del Este published a statement on Facebook on Thursday to defend the two-year restriction of liberty imposed on Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente—known as Anna Bensi—and her mother, Caridad Silvente Laffita. The central justification: that video footage recorded on 10 March 2026 would have exposed the "home address" of a MININT agent.
According to cibercuba.com, analysis of the available images directly contradicts this claim.
The ID card visible in the recording belongs to Yoel Leodán Rabaza Ramos, a petty officer of the MININT with expedient number 2164794. The document only contains name, expedient number, rank, physical characteristics and date of validity. There is no field for home address on that ID card.
The Court's statement claims that Caridad Silvente "displayed the data contained in the ID card such as name and surname, identity number, photo and address of her domicile". That information, highlighted in the official text itself, does not correspond to what the available images show. This is a falsehood included in an official statement to support a conviction.
The name Martín Rodríguez Rodríguez also appears on the ID card, identified as the officer signing the document, with the rank of First Colonel and Deputy Head of the Personnel and Staff Management Division of the MININT.
Identification of the Agent and Irregular Conduct
Journalist José Raúl Gallego identified the agent on 11 March 2026: "Yoel Leodán Rabaza Ramos, with the rank of petty officer and badge number 179542, was the police officer who presented himself in civilian clothes, wearing a cap and glasses at the home of Anna Sofía Benítez, to summon her mother."
In the video itself, Rabaza Ramos admitted he was not acting on his own initiative: "I have nothing to do with this, but State Security is who ordered me to summon her for tomorrow at two in the afternoon." Gallego added that "the State Security officer was waiting for him in hiding, with an unregistered motorcycle and lacking the courage to show his face."
The summons that the agent delivered presented multiple irregularities: it mentioned a "Captain Alberto" without a surname, but the signature corresponded to a "Captain Rafael", and the space for the reason was left blank. Additionally, regulations require that summonses be served with at least 72 hours' notice, a timeframe that was also not met.
Questioned Judicial Process
The case was initially closed and only reopened in July 2026 following a complaint filed by the agent himself. The assigned judge, Zamira Marrero Morgado, had previously been flagged by activists for her participation in cases linked to the 11 July 2021 trials.
Anna Bensi's sister reported that they only allowed one defence witness to enter. Two others—the "Preacher of Christ" and activist David Espinosa—were detained by authorities before reaching the courthouse.
Before entering the courtroom, Anna Bensi arrived to applause and declared: "It's not fair" and "none of us are criminals."
The legal organisation Cubalex had warned that Article 393 of the Penal Code—under which the accused were sentenced—should not be applied to the conduct of public officials in the exercise of their duties, given that the figure of privacy protects private life and not the official conduct of a State agent.
International Reactions
Cuban-American congressmen Mario Díaz-Balart, María Elvira Salazar and Carlos A. Giménez expressed their support for the accused and demanded their unconditional release.
The United States Embassy in Havana summed up the case with a single phrase: "Thinking differently is not a crime."
Source: Google News CU — La Habana