Nationality Turkish Movies 2 Girls Role Writer | Name Perihan Magden Ethnicity Georgian Parents Etem Magden, Tulay Tuna | |
Books Ali and Ramazan, 2 Girls, The Messenger Boy Murd, Escape, Whom Were We Running Similar People Kutlug Ataman, Ece Temelkuran, Nuray Mert, Yildirim Turker, Asli Erdogan |
Antimilitarism perihan magden at tedxrobertcollege
Perihan Mağden (born 1960) is a Turkish writer. She was a columnist for the newspaper Taraf. She was tried and acquitted for calling for opening the possibility of conscientious objection to mandatory military service in Turkey.
Contents
- Antimilitarism perihan magden at tedxrobertcollege
- Perihan magden ok a klamalar 2
- Biography
- Activism
- Conscientious objection lawsuit
- Awards
- Des objets des livres ali et ramazan
- References
Perihan magden ok a klamalar 2
Biography
Mağden was born in 1960 in Istanbul. After graduating from Robert College of Istanbul, she studied psychology at Boğaziçi University. By her own account, she was an unruly student—and her mother was proud of it.

One of the most famous writers in young Turkish literature, Perihan Magden has spent some time at Yaddo, the famous artists' community. Mağden is a single mother who lives in Istanbul.

In addition to writing editorial columns for Turkish newspapers (including Radikal, 2001 - 2008), Mağden has also published fictional novels and a collection of poetry. Mağden's novel İki Genç Kızın Romanı (Two Girls), published in 2005 by Serpent's Tail, was praised for pushing "Turkish beyond its conventional literary patterns" and compared to J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye for the way she had captured adolescent anguish.

She spent some years in far east countries. Her novel "Two Girls" has been a big success in homeland Turkey and became an award winning movie premiered in Europe in London Film Festival right after Sydney. She is the author of "Messenger Boy Murders" (Haberci Çocuk Cinayetleri), "The Companion" (Refakatçi) and "Escape" (Biz kimden kaciyorduk, Anne?). Her latest novel "Ali and Ramazan" published in 2010 in Turkish and now out by Suhrkamp (German) and AmazonCrossing (USA). Her latest essays on Turkey are collected under the title "Political Essays" (Politik Yazılar). Her novels have been translated into 19 languages including English, French, German, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Greek and Russian.
Activism
Mağden is one of several journalists and writers charged for "threatening Turkey's unity or the integrity of the state."
After the assassination of Hrant Dink, she was offered security protection.
In December 2007, she received a fourteen-month suspended sentence for insulting Aytac Gul, then governor of Yuksekova.
In early 2016 Mağden was charged with “insult to the President” (art. 301 of the Turkish Penal Code), having commented in an interview about the September 2015 confiscation of Nokta Mag that Erdoğan “is behaving like a wild tiger, a wild animal in a corner”. The journalist interviewing her, Tunca Öğreten, was charged too for publishing the words. Mağden denied accusations saying that “as a writer I have applied a literary form of similitude while criticizing the raiding of the Nokta Mag.” They risk up to 4 years in prison. The first trial will take place in Istanbul on 12 May 2016.
Conscientious objection lawsuit
Mağden was prosecuted by the Turkish government in relation to a December 2005 column in the weekly news magazine Yeni Aktuel. In the column she strongly defended the actions of Mehmet Tarhan, a young Turkish man jailed for his refusal to perform mandatory military service. In this column, titled "Conscientious Objection is a Human Right", Mağden stated that the United Nations acknowledges conscientious objection as a human right.
In response to the column, the Turkish military accused her of attempting to turn the Turkish people against military service and filed a complaint against her. A warrant was issued for her prosecution in April 2006 and her trial was in late July; the most severe sentence she could have faced if convicted under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code was three years' imprisonment. Under Turkish law, there is no provision for conscientious objection to mandatory military service.
When asked about her situation, Mağden replied, "It's shocking that they are putting me on trial. I've no idea what will happen. The case could finish tomorrow or it could stretch on and on. The unnerving thing about the courts is they are so unpredictable, it's like a lottery. It's torture."
Her prosecution was criticized by human rights groups around the world. The European Union closely monitored the lawsuit. In a show of support for Mağden, newspapers in Turkey have republished the column that led to criminal charges against her.
She was acquitted on July 27, 2006. The court concluded that she exercised her right of freedom of speech.