THE Office of the Attorney General has been ordered to compensate two men a combined total of more than $1.25 million after a High Court judge found that a police officer was responsible for sharing, on social media, photographs of them in a police station cell and falsely indicating they were caught having sex in public.

Justice Joan Charles delivered the oral ruling on Thursday, awarding each of the men $625,000 in damages, along with interest, after upholding their defamation claims.

The men - whose identities are being withheld due to the nature of the matter - had sued PC Anil Giles and the State over the circulation of a photograph taken while they were in custody at the West End Police Station, Diego Martin.