Churches Rally Behind Cuban Christian Influencer After ‘Abuse’ of Justice System
Church leaders across Cuba have come out in support of a 21-year-old Christian influencer and her mother after they were sentenced to two years of house arrest for speaking out against the communist regime. Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente, known online as Anna Bensi, and her mother Caridad Silvente Laffita were convicted of violating “the personal and family privacy” of a government official after Benítez filmed a plain-clothed Department of State Security (DSE) agent who had come to their home in March, stating it was a protective measure. The official claimed the video had exposed his identity. Religious freedom advocates Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) have denounced the trial as “an abuse of the justice system.” At least two religious leaders were detained by security officers in Havana in the hours before the trial on Thursday, 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 Benítez and her mother.
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,” adding, “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.” Benítez rose to prominence after sharing her struggles in obtaining certificates to be a dental technician and documenting 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, whose statement declared, “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.”
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