LILONGWE, (Reuters) – Amnesty International urged  Malawi yesterday to release two men arrested last week after  becoming the first gay couple to wed in the conservative  southern African state, which bars homosexuality.

A Malawi court on Monday denied bail to Steve Mojeza and  Tiwonge Chimbalanga following their arrest on charges of public  indecency over the Dec. 26 symbolic traditional wedding.

In a statement, Amnesty International said the men’s arrest  was a violation of their rights to “freedom of conscience,  expression, and privacy”.

“Amnesty International considers individuals imprisoned  solely for their consensual sexual relationship in private as  prisoners of conscience and calls for their immediate and  unconditional release,” it added.

The rights group also criticised what it said were attempts  to carry out examinations on the men to establish if they had  sexual intercourse.

“The arrest … risks driving underground men who have sex  with men in Malawi, making it more difficult for access to  information on HIV prevention and health services,” Amnesty  said.

HIV/AIDS has killed more than 800,000 people in Malawi since  the first case was reported in 1985, decimating a generation of  the adult age group and leaving more than one million orphans.

On Wednesday Malawi police said the two men had been taken  for psychiatric tests in ongoing investigations. They face a  maximum sentence of 14 years in prison if convicted.