
A citizen of the United States of America working in Zimbabwe has been arrested by police for allegedly referring to President Robert Mugabe sick and selfish in a 'retweet.'
In
a report by Aljazera, the police arrested the US citizen, Martha
O'Donovan, for allegedly "insulting" President Robert Mugabe in a tweet
she shared.
Martha had reportedly
re-tweeted a post which apparently referred to Mugabe as a "selfish man
and sick man", Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), which is
representing O'Donovan, said in a tweet on Friday.
According
to her lawyers, Martha is the first victim of the country's cyber law
since the creation of the Ministry of Cyber Security.
The
Magamba TV member of staff, was arrested on Friday, November 3, 2017
during a dawn raid on her home in Harare, the television station said
in a statement.
Zimbabwe Republic Police "says Martha O'Donovan insulted Mugabe when she allegedly tweeted that 'We are being led by a selfish man and sick man'", ZLHR tweeted. The post shared by O'Donovan did not refer to Mugabe by name.
ZLHR also said on Twitter that O'Donovan is being charged with "undermining [the] authority of or insulting [the] president".
'Mugabe controls social media'
Since the creation of the Ministry of Cyber Security in Zimbabwe in October 2017, Martha's arrest is the first arrest.
The
new ministry focuses on crimes on social media and the worldwide web in
general, in advance of the 2018 presidential election.
Amnesty
International condemned the arrest, saying it "marks the start of a
sinister new chapter in the Zimbabwean government's clampdown on freedom
of speech - and the new battleground is social media".
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