Politics & Government
Bridgewater Woman Faces 20 Years In Prison Over Tweet
Breaking: Martha O'Donovan, of the Martinsville section of the township is facing 20 years in prison for tweet about the Zimbabwe President.
BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A Bridgewater woman is facing 20 years in prison for an alleged tweet about the president of Zimbabwe. Martha O’Donovan, 25, a native of the Martinsville section of the township was arrested Friday at her home in Harare, Africa over a tweet calling President Robert Mugabe a "sick man" along with a photo accusing him of using a catheter last month, according to multiple reports.
The tweet in question said: "We are being led by a selfish & sick man @GomoDubi @tafadzwamarere@Busisa74 @caesarzvayi @mayor_justice @JessieFMajome@ProfJNMoyo @263Chat pic.twitter.com/9Q2PDsFrwV," which was posted from the Twitter account @matigary, The Washington Post reported.
Zimbabwe authorities reportedly tracked the author of the tweet down through an IP address. However, O'Donovan denied the claims and @matigary has continued to tweet since she was jailed.
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O'Donovan appeared in court on Saturday and is represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. She was charged with subversion, which carries up to 20 years in prison. O’Donovan also is charged with undermining the authority of or insulting the president.
The ZLHR filed an application to dismiss the case, which was denied. Now she has to remain in jail until at least Nov. 15. Her lawyers will apply for bail on Monday, according to NJ 101.5.
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O'Donovan has denied the allegations, calling them are “baseless and malicious."
O’Donovan graduated from Bridgewater-Raritan High School and works for the Magamba Network, according to her Facebook page.
She also manages MAR's Bar, a pop-up cocktail bar in Harare, Zimbabwe.
While attending NYU, O’Donovan studied the politics of human rights and development in African cities where she received a prestigious Fulbright award that took her to Zambia to research women in nightlife there, according to the New York Post.
Many have taken to social media to show their support for O'Donovan using the hashtag #FreeMartha.
@MagambaTV Martha O'Donovan got arrested for allegedly retweeting this tweet, let's all retweet it so that the can #ArrestUsAll #FreeMartha https://t.co/ArslLrq6ra
— #Register2Vote (@NMkapikoh) November 3, 2017
#US citizen Martha O'Donovan with her lawyer Obey Shava hours after being arrested for 'goblin Mugabe' tweet scorn #Zimbabwe #ThisFlag pic.twitter.com/yI26kHLNHJ
— Reagan Mashavave (@ReaganMashavave) November 3, 2017
#FreeMartha Martha O'Donovan arrives at Harare Magistrates Court for initial remand proceedings pic.twitter.com/gqUrJiEYQY
— ZLHR (@ZLHRLawyers) November 4, 2017
every zimbabwean should retweet the alleged post, like a million times and break the internet #FreeMartha #ThisFlag https://t.co/7STVe0VCH5
— Tawanda (@togatsi) November 3, 2017
If you protest you get arrested If you post a video you get arrested If you tweet you get arrested#twimbos register to vote #freemartha
— Munya Bloggo (@MunyaBloggo) November 3, 2017
(Image via @ReaganMashavave)
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