(CNN) -- A gay couple in Malawi, found guilty of gross indecency and unnatural acts after they took part in an "engagement ceremony," was sentenced to 14 years in prison Thursday.
Steven Mojenza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, were convicted in a court Tuesday.
The pair was arrested in December at their home in Blantyre, Malawi, for professing their love in a traditional engagement ceremony. They were rounded up after news reports surfaced, charged under colonial-era sodomy laws and detained at Chichiru Prison without bail.
The arrests received some popular support in the conservative southern African nation, but sparked condemnation by gay rights activists. Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called for the release of the couple.
"There was no victim in this case, yet they were given a very harsh sentence by the judge," said Gift Trapence, executive director of a Malawi human rights group.
Trapence said the majority of Malawians supported the verdict, but feared the harsh sentence would push much of the country's gay community further underground.
Homosexuality is illegal in Malawi -- as it is in most African nations -- and government officials have said they are simply upholding the law.
But activists in Malawi say Article 20 of the country's constitution -- which outlaws discrimination -- is being violated. The Malawi Law Society said the prosecution of the two men has been driven by prejudice -- not jurisprudence.
Anthony Kamanga, Malawi's solicitor general and secretary for justice and constitutional affairs, said the law does not conflict with the constitution, and denied the charge of prejudice.
"We have no law that criminalizes sexual orientation, just certain sexual acts.
Kamanga said the criticism is unfair.
"For some reason, this case has been blown out of proportion," he charged. "The courts have been fair to these two men."
"Most people are repugnant towards homosexuality," said Canaan Phiri, secretary general of the Malawi Council of Churches. "People do not declare their homosexuality because people are against this."
Ahead of the verdict, the two men thanked their supporters, remaining defiant in a statement released through Tatchell.
In it, Chimbalanga said: "I love Steven so much. If people or the world cannot give me the chance and freedom to continue living with him as my lover, then I am better off to die here in prison. Freedom without him is useless and meaningless."
