Authorities in Morocco have pressed charges of homosexuality against two teenage girls allegedly caught kissing and will put them on trial this week, a human rights group has said.

Police detained the pair, only identified as 16-year-old Sanaa and 17-year-old Hajar, in Marrakech last Thursday, said Omar Arbib, an activist at the Moroccan Association of Human Rights.

“They were caught kissing and hugging on the roof of a house in Hay Mohammadi district,” said Arbib.

Someone photographed them, sent the picture to the family who informed the police and the two girls were arrested on the same day, he said.

They appeared before prosecutors and were due in court on Friday to face charges of “licentious or unnatural acts with an individual of the same sex” under article 489 of the penal code.

The Moroccan Association of Human Rights has appointed a lawyer to defend the girls who if convicted face terms of imprisonment of between six months and three years.

But Arbib called for the release of the pair and for the law they are accused of breaking to be abolished.