US woman arrested in Zimbabwe is ordered freed on bail

Published November 09, 2017

A judge in Zimbabwe has ordered that a United States citizen charged with subversion and accused of insulting the president should be freed on $1,000 bail.

Martha O'Donovan also must hand over her passport and report to police twice a week. She was arrested on Friday. She has denied that she called 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe a "sick man" on Twitter.

The 25-year-old O'Donovan faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the subversion charge. She also faces a charge of undermining the authority of or insulting the president, which carries up to a year in prison.

The New Jersey native will return to court on Nov. 15.

She had been working with local social media outlet Magamba TV, which describes itself as producing "satirical comedy sensations."

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-woman-arrested-in-zimbabwe-is-ordered-freed-on-bail