Malawi's president on Saturday pardoned and ordered the release of a gay couple sentenced to 14 years in prison, but warned that homosexuality remains illegal in the conservative southern African nation.

President Bingu wa Mutharika said he would release Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza on "humanitarian grounds only." He made the announcement during a news conference with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Lilongwe, the capital.

Earlier this month, a judge convicted and sentenced the two men on charges of unnatural acts and gross indecency, both colonial-era laws. They had been arrested in December, a day after they celebrated their engagement.

"These boys committed a crime against our culture, against our religion, and against our laws," Mutharika said. "However, as head of state, I hereby pardon them and therefore order their immediate release without any conditions."

He added: "We don't condone marriages of this nature. It's unheard of in Malawi and it's illegal."

Ban praised Mutharika's decision but said, "It is unfortunate that laws criminalize people based on sexuality. Laws that criminalize sexuality should be repealed."

While the order was immediate, a prison spokesman told The Associated Press there had been no notification to release the men by Saturday afternoon.

Friends and families of the two men could not be reached immediately for comment. But a cousin of Chimbalanga, Maxwell Manda, said earlier in the week that Chimbalanga wanted to leave Malawi.

International outcry

The case has drawn international condemnation and sparked a debate on human rights in the landlocked country formerly known as Nyasaland.

Joseph Amon of Human Rights Watch said the president was no doubt responding to the international outcry over the couple's conviction and harsh sentence. "I hope that other leaders of African countries with anti-gay laws see that this is just not acceptable in the international community," he said.

Amon said the next step would be to campaign to overturn Malawi's anti-gay legislation.

Homosexuality is illegal in at least 37 countries in Africa.