Turkish court acquits author of charges of turning people against military service

AP Worldstream; Jul 27, 2006

A court on Thursday acquitted a Turkish author and journalist of
charges of turning people against military service for defending the
rights of a conscientious objector in her weekly magazine column.

The court ruled that Perihan Magden’s article amounted to "heavy
criticism conveyed within the scope of freedom of expression" and
did not constitute a crime.

Magden was among a string of writers and journalists to stand trial
for expressing opinions, despite pressure from the EU _ which Turkey
hopes to join _ to scrap repressive laws and improve freedoms.

In her column, published in the weekly Yeni Aktuel magazine in
December, Magden defended conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan who
was sentenced to a record four-year term in a military prison for
disobedience after refusing to wear his military uniform. She argued
that Turkey needed to establish a civilian service as an alternative
to compulsory military conscription.

Conscription in Turkey is obligatory for men over 20, and the country
does not recognize the right to conscientious objection. Objectors have
also been prosecuted on charges of turning people against the military.

Magden faced up to three years in prison had she been convicted.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has said it has no
plans to change such laws, saying where appropriate the charges are
eventually dropped and defendants are acquitted.

EU officials argue, however, that even if the charges are dropped the
threat of prosecution remains as a deterrent against people wishing
to express opinions.

Late last year, a Turkish court dropped charges against Orhan Pamuk,
one of the country’s most famous novelists, who faced trial on charges
of insulting "Turkishness" for commenting on the mass killings of
Armenians by Turks around the time of World War I. The charges were
dropped for technical reasons amid intense international pressure.