Perihan Magden

Born in Istanbul in 1960, Perihan Magden graduated in psychology from Bosphorous University. She has written novels, poetry, short stories and works as a journalist. Magden wrote for the Turkish newspaper Radikal from 1997 to 2000 and was sued by the Turkish Government for an exposé on State practices. Her novel, 2 Girls (2005) was a bestseller in Turkey and achieved high acclaim in English. It was recently adapted to film.

In January 2006, Perihan Magden wrote an article in defence of an imprisoned conscientious objector, Mehmet Tarhan. Since then, the military authorities in Turkey had been preparing a case against her. In her article Magden suggested that there should be options for humanitarians other than joining the army, such as civil service or teaching positions, quoting the view of the Council of Europe and United Nations that conscientious objection is a human right. The military authority has announced that it is a crime to write such articles and that Magden should be punished with the most severe penalty.

In April 2006, a warrant for her arrest was issued and Magden was charged with turning people against military service. She faced up to three years in prison. On 27 July 2006, Magden was tried and acquitted.

On 4 December 2007, however, Perihan Magden received a 14-month suspended prison sentence under Article 125 of the Penal Cade, because of a magazine article reporting what locals said about Aytac Akgul, then governor of Yuksekova District. She was convicted of insulting the governor by the Istanbul Second Penal Court.

Click here to read an article on Perihan Magden by Alev Adil.