Cuba: Trial postponed for activist Anna Bensi and her mother

The trial of Cuban activist Anna Sofía Benítez, known as Anna Bensi, and her mother, Caridad Silvente, has been postponed indefinitely. The proceedings were originally scheduled for September 17 but were delayed due to the personal issues of the presiding judge.

The legal dispute stems from an incident in March when the pair recorded and published a video of a State Security officer, Sub-officer Yoel Leodán Rabaza Ramos, delivering a summons to their home in Havana. They recorded the encounter as a safety precaution. Authorities subsequently charged them under Article 393 of the Penal Code for “acts against personal and family privacy.”

Bensi reported that the officer has requested that she and her mother post a public apology video on social media to restore his reputation. Meanwhile, the officer’s legal counsel is seeking a sentence of two years of restricted freedom. Since March, Benítez and Silvente have been under house arrest and are prohibited from leaving the country.