diff --git a/gitlab/__init__.py b/gitlab/__init__.py
index 331f527..5c92bfa 100644
--- a/gitlab/__init__.py
+++ b/gitlab/__init__.py
@@ -1404,7 +1404,7 @@ def getrawfile(self, project_id, sha1, filepath):
                                params=data, verify=self.verify_ssl,
                                headers=self.headers)
         if request.status_code == 200:
-            return request.content.decode("utf-8")
+            return request.content
         else:
             return False
 
@@ -1418,7 +1418,7 @@ def getrawblob(self, project_id, sha1):
         request = requests.get("{0}/{1}/repository/raw_blobs/{2}".format(self.projects_url, project_id, sha1),
                                verify=self.verify_ssl, headers=self.headers)
         if request.status_code == 200:
-            return request.content.decode("utf-8")
+            return request.content
         else:
             return False