Magden Court Case Starts Tense

The trial of author Perihan Magden for allegedly "discouraging people from military service" in her magazine article titled "Conscientious Objection is a Human Right" started in tension this week with families of Turkish soldiers killed in action staging a protest at the court house.

Police crack teams were called in to maintain discipline at Istanbul's 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance when a group calling themselves "Families of Martyrs" turned up in front of the building and started a protest as Magden arrived.

The scene was reminiscent of previous protests by nationalist groups in the trials against authors Orhan Pamuk and Hrank Dink as well as the five writers on trial for criticising a court decision in Istanbul to postpone the Ottoman Armenian Conference.

Similar to the other cases, a group of 11 families of martyrs members applied to the bench to be accepted as an intervening party in the prosecution's case against Magden but they were turned down on grounds that they were not an aggrieved party.

Magden's is one of the six cases against press and expression freedoms heard in Turkey this week and is based on a criminal complaint filed by the Chief of General Staff office in relation to her article which was published in the "Yeni Aktuel" magazine in December 2005.

If found guilty of the charge of "discouraging people from military service" under article 318 of the Turkish Penal Code, she faces a maximum of three years imprisonment.

On Wednesday, Magden and her lawyer filed under heavy police protection a written defence with the court after which the bench gave time to the Republic Prosecutor to decide on whether to expand the investigation and deliberate. The court was adjourned to July 27.

In the indictment against Magden's article on individual rights against compulsory recruitment, the prosecution maintains that "taking into consideration the geographical conditions of our country, it is evident how important compulsory military service is".

The indictment further states that those recruited are then assigned to the East and Southeast of the country according to their qualifications where they serve in various capacities including as teachers and doctors. The indictment charges that Magden, rather than use her right to freedom of expression, was discouraging people from military service in her article. (EO/II/YE)