A US citizen has been arrested for referring to President Mugabe as sick and selfsh

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". 

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".