Church leaders have come out in support for a 21 year-old Christian influencer and her mother, after speaking out against the communist Cuban regime.
Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente, known online as Anna Bensi, and her mother Caridad Silvente Laffita were sentenced to two years of house arrest for violating “the personal and family privacy” of a government official.
Religious freedom advocates Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) have denounced the trial as “an abuse of the justice system”.
The content creator filmed a plain-clothed Department of State Security (DSE) agent who had come to their house in March, stating it was a protective measure. The official claimed it had exposed his identity.
At least two religious leaders were detained by security officers in Havana in the hours before the trial on Thursday. It came after the Assemblies of God, Baptist Convention of Western Cuba (CBCO), Evangelical League of Cuba and Methodist Church of Cuba published statements of support for Anna Bensi and her mother. A number of independent journalists were also blocked from leaving their homes.
Pastor Rolando Pérez Lora, who had tried to accompany the women to the trial, was pushed to the ground by DSE and police officers, handcuffed and forced into a patrol car. David Espinosa, a youth pastor associated with the CBCO, was also detained with his wife.
A crowd outside the court building in Cojímar chanted, sang and prayed together during the hearing.
CSW director of advocacy Anna Lee Stangl said the initial incident with DSE was “aimed at intimidating and silencing these two women” and the sentence was “a gross miscarriage of justice”.
“The detentions of Pastor David Espinosa and his wife, and of Pastor Rolando Pérez Lora adds further injury to these unjust procedures. We call on the Cuban government to heed the call of the Baptist Convention of Western Cuba and the other religious groups and individuals who have denounced this abuse of the justice system and to void the guilty verdict and remove all restrictions on Anna Bensi and her mother”, she added.
Anna Bensi rose to prominence after sharing her struggles in obtaining certificates to be a dental technician; going on to document the daily struggles facing Cubans, such as blackouts and shortages. She told CubaNet that her Christian convictions have led her to continue posting online.
The mother and daughter are both members of the CBCO. A statement from the denomination said they “possess a powerful testimony of Christian life. They are not delinquents, attackers, drug dealers, terrorists or mercenaries.”
“Due to a basic sense of justice we cannot, do not want to and will not leave them on their own. On an island that is falling apart, characterised by hunger, illness, unhealthiness, by scarcity of water, electricity and medicine, apathy and a lack of protection from the police, the imprisonment of these two innocent and righteous women will be the drop that causes the cup to overflow,” the CBCO statement added.