Same-sex acts are illegal in the conservative west-central African country of Cameroon, which explains why Jonas Kumie (pictured left) and Frankie Djome (pictured right) were convicted in November 2011 and sentenced to five years in prison for “looking gay.

The two men who have already served over a year’s time in prison were arrested for allegedly having oral sex in a car, according to police. The pair vehemently denied the allegations against them and their lawyer, Alice Nkom (pictured), argues that they were cuffed for merely looking feminine. Nkom, who sits at the helm of the Association for the Defense of Homosexuals in Cameroon, has stated that the case was a “crime of fashion, not homosexuality.”

“How can people be jailed just for dressing like women?” Nkom said, adding, “This is really an embarrassment for Cameroon.”Homophobia is widespread not only in Cameroon but throughout most African countries; jailing men or women who indulge in same-sex acts is not uncommon on the continent.