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 27 July 2006. The court concluded that she exercised her right of freedom of speech. English language bibliography Five of Mağden's novels have been published in English. The Messenger Boy Murders The Messenger Boy Murders (Turkish title: Haberci Çocuk Cinayetleri) is a 1991 novel by Turkish writer and columnist Perihan Mağden republished in 2003 by Milet Books in English language translation by Richard Hamer. The publisher describes the novel as, "a darkly comic, irreverent and hypnotic tale, an exploration of humanity's endless absurdity and its futile attempts to create perfection, cleverly wrapped in a murder mystery," "from a popular and innovative Turkish author." Maureen Freely writing in Cornucopia states, "Set in a city