Washington: An American woman has been jailed in Zimbabwe for calling President Robert Mugabe "a selfish and sick man" in a tweet.
Martha O'Donovan, 25, who works for a satirical video website, has meanwhile moved the country's highest court for bail.
She landed into trouble after she reportedly tweeted: "'We are being led by a selfish and sick man."
Citing court documents, the CNN reported that O'Donovan has been accused of plotting to overthrow the Mugabe government.
The case comes after the Zimbabwe government had last month created a cybersecurity ministry to monitor social media posts.
O'Donovan has rejected the charges as baseless and malicious.
"I deny the allegations being leveled against me as baseless and malicious. That is all I wish to say," the report quoted her as saying.
She will remain in prison till the Court decides her bail plea.
If convicted, she faces 20 years in prison.
Zimbabwe said the Ministry for Cyber Security, Threat Detection and Mitigation was intended to "trap all rats" that abused social media.
93-year-old Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe since 1980, has long been criticized for corruption and abuse of power.
