'I have seen hell. I did not deserve to be there' alleges arrested Chademana. Ellen Chademana planned to celebrate her 34th birthday at home with her family.

Instead, she was locked up in a filthy cell at the Harare Police Station where, she says, she and a colleague were tortured.

Chademana, 34, an administrative assistant at Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), and Ignatius Mhambi, 38, were arrested at their offices in Milton Park, Harare, last week and released after six nights on Thursday.

They were charged with possessing obscene, indecent or prohibited articles under Zimbabwe's censorship laws. Although their lawyers were initially told by police that they would be charged with undermining the authority of the president for allegedly displaying a plaque of San Francisco mayor Willie Lewis Brown Jr denouncing President Robert Mugabe's homophobia, prosecutors did not proceed with this charge in court.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mhambi and Chademana said they were forced to sit in a squatting position for a long time. When Mhambi could not maintain the position, he was hit on the knees. Chademana, who is diabetic, said she wore plastic bags as shoes and two jackets to ward off the cold.

"I have seen hell. I did not deserve to be there," she said. She said she missed her 10-year-old son Tafadzwa. She had been hoping that he would sing Happy Birthday to her on Wednesday.

Mhambi said: "The time that we were detained was too long for the offence levelled against us. I am not sure what the motive was. I am very hurt but I am free. It was tortuous and I ended up hallucinating."

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena dismissed the torture allegations.

"That's very ridiculous. It (torture) is an allegation that anyone can just pick and claim in court. They just want to cast aspersions on the police. We recovered material which is very substantial," said Bvudzijena.

Mugabe has previously attacked homosexuality, describing it as foreign to African culture. He said homosexuals were "worse than dogs and pigs".

The two must report twice a week to Harare Police Station. They surrendered their passports and are not allowed to travel more than 40km out of Harare without permission.