An American journalist in Zimbabwe is facing up to 20 years in prison after being accused of insulting the African nation's president on Twitter.

Martha O'Donovan stands accused of subversion, which carries a maximum sentence of two decades.She is accused of referring to Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe a "selfish" and "sick" man.

The head of state has been elected to power in every vote since 1980 and will soon seek reelection.
The Twitter post was complemented by an illustration of the Mugabe with a catheter.

 The New Jersey native is also charged with undermining the authority of or insulting the president..
On Friday, a human rights lawyer said the arrest was linked to a retweet which did not mention Mugabe by name but referred to a "goblin whose wife and step-son bought a Rolls-Royce."

Mugabe's stepson with his wife Grace is believed to have recently imported two Rolls-Royce, according to local media reports.

Twenty-five-year-old O'Donovan, who works for a TV station in the Harare area, calls the allegations "baseless and malicious."

"Most Zimbabweans do vent on social media about the state of the country, so if they arrest her for this they might as well arrest all Zimbabweans on social media," Munya Bloggo, who created the hashtag #FreeMartha, told BuzzFeed News.