“This process will not be easy, but I will just say that, even though we face threats, being complicit in silence is not an option for the children of God,” says Anthony Martinez after leaving the interrogation.
14ymedio, Havana, October 5, 2026 / It was the “same old script,” said one of the people who accompanied Anthony Martínez on Monday, who was interrogated for about two and a half hours at the unit popularly known as El Técnico, in Guanajay, Artemisa. The young man received a summons on Sunday after having accompanied Anna Bensi and her mother, Caridad Silvente, last Thursday before the trial in which both were sentenced to “two years of restricted liberty” by the People’s Municipal Court of East Havana.
“I’m home now, family,” he said in a Facebook post where he is seen with 13 people. “I give many thanks to God for the lives of my brothers, thank you for being with me during this process, thank you for every message of concern, for every prayer, because if you do it for me, you are doing it for our Cuba and its people,” Martínez added.
Without indicating the terms of the interrogation or whether he was charged, he stated that “this process will not be easy, but I will only say that, even if we have threats, it is not an option for the children of God to be complicit in silence.”
“I give many thanks to God for the lives of my brothers, thank you for accompanying me in this process, thank you for every message of concern.”
In this regard, independent journalist Yaiset Rodríguez indicated on Facebook that Anthony has no criminal case that justifies a police summons.
This Sunday, Martínez denounced in a video the harassment by a State Security agent and showed the summons: “Do you know what this paper is? A summons that they just gave me now at 2:30 in the afternoon. An officer came and without telling me the reason why I have to be in Guanajay tomorrow (this Monday) at 9 in the morning, he just gave me this summons.”
The young man said that on October 1, the day Anna Bensi and her mother were found guilty and sentenced to “two years of restricted freedom” in the People’s Municipal Court of East Havana, he managed to leave his house without being detected by the agents who were watching him and tried to accompany them both.
“What do you call this? It’s called repression anywhere in the world. For thinking differently. Let the world know what’s happening. Long live a free Cuba!”
He denounced the widespread repression that day, saying they were treated “like criminals, like murderers. What do you call this? It’s called repression anywhere in the world. For thinking differently. Let the world know what’s happening. Long live Free Cuba,” he concluded.
As a case in point, hours before the trial, Pastor Rolando, known as the Herald of Christ, was arrested. He was violently subdued while with Anna Bensi and her mother, on their way to the trial. Officers threw him to the ground, handcuffed him, and put him in a patrol car, without ever giving a reason for the arrest.
Anna Bensi herself posted a video on Facebook this Sunday reacting to the sentence she received on Thursday. Clarifying that she couldn’t speak about the trial because “it was an order,” she thanked everyone for their support and said that “denouncing this injustice is also supporting freedom in Cuba.” She also questioned the reason for the arrest of people in her circle because of the video she posted of the police officer delivering a summons to her, which was the reason for her trial, and that they “had nothing to do with the case.”
“How did you expect to see me? Bitter? Downcast? Disheveled? Sad? Distressed? Broken? No”
She also stated that she would not give the government the satisfaction of seeing her portrayed as defeated: “How did they expect to see me? Bitter? Downcast? Disheveled? Sad? Distressed? Broken? No. I wasn’t going to give them that satisfaction, and I won’t. Head held high, trusting in God, with the greatest faith and with my convictions stronger than ever.”
The case has sparked a wave of support from various sectors. This Saturday, the Cuban Filmmakers Assembly (ACC) recalled that the influencer and her mother were tried after receiving months of “threats and harassment from the authorities.”
“Filming the pain, uncertainty, and agony of a country has become a crime. Two days ago, two women were brought to trial for sharing on social media images of a plainclothes police officer delivering an official summons to them,” the ACC recalled in a statement on Facebook.
“This is not a random or isolated incident because it is rooted in a context of constant repression,” the Assembly emphasized. “Double standards have become an official hallmark. They are adept at applying the law according to their interests and interpretations, but clumsy or blind when it comes to respecting citizens’ constitutional right to publicly and peacefully express their feelings about reality,” the filmmakers added in their statement.
______________________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.