Zimbabwe police describe detained a USA citizen in addition to seized her laptop on Fri on suspicion of calling President Robert Mugabe a "Goblin" on Twitter, the receive arrest since the creation of a Ministry of Cyber Security end month, her lawyers said.
Martha O'Donovan, who industrial plant for Magamba TV, which describes itself equally Zimbabwe's leading producer of political satire, was picked upwards during a dawn raid on her Harare home, Republic of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said inward a statement.
The police describe were armed amongst a search warrant linked to an investigation of a illustration of "undermining authorization of or insulting the President", it added.
Central to their investigation, it said, was a post on O'Donovan's Twitter feed referring to a "Goblin" whose married adult woman in addition to step-sons had imported a Rolls Royce, an apparent reference to 93-year-old Mugabe fifty-fifty though he was non named.
Recent online reports accept claimed Mugabe's 2 adult sons, Robert Jr in addition to Chatunga, accept imported at to the lowest degree 1 luxury vehicle from neighbouring South Africa.
O'Donovan's Twitter line of piece of occupation concern human relationship was locked on Fri only a photograph on her domicile page referred to #ShutdownZimbabwe2016, a serial of protests end twelvemonth that rattled Mugabe's authorities in addition to elicited a tearing crackdown on the streets in addition to online.
Police spokeswoman Charity Charamba said she had no immediate information almost the case. The USA diplomatic mission inward Harare confirmed that an American citizen had been arrested in addition to said it was monitoring the province of affairs closely.
If convicted, O'Donovan faces a maximum of 1 twelvemonth inward jail, her lawyer said.
Reuters