The trial opened to European Union criticism over Turkey's commitment to freedom of expression and protests by nationalists who booed Magden as a "friend" of Kurdish rebels, the chief enemy of the army.

The prosecution is seeking up to three years in jail for the defendant for "prompting, encouraging or spreading propaganda to deter people from accomplishing military service."

The case resulted from a complaint by the general staff over an article Magden wrote in the weekly magazine Yeni Aktuel in December 2005.

Drawing on the plight of a high-profile homosexual objector, Magden said conscientious objection was a human right and called for reforms to allow objectors to do alternative public service.

The EU ambassador to Turkey, Hansjorg Kretschmer, denounced Magden's trial as "unacceptable," in a newspaper interview published Wednesday.

"If you think there should be a right to conscientious objection in Turkey, why can't you say it? And why is this becoming a ground for prosecution?" he told Milliyet.

"There are many issues (in Turkey) like this which are unacceptable from European point of view," he said.

The EU has long warned Ankara that prosecuting intellectuals for exercising their right to freedom of thought will damage the country's bid for membership.

In her article, Magden also questioned army arguments that the compulsory draft was dictated by Turkey's geopolitical location in a difficult region plagued by armed conflict.

Turkey's army, the second largest standing force in NATO after the United States, has been fighting the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the southeast since 1984, in a conflict that has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

"All Turks are born soldiers," "Why don't you go to the mountains to join your friends from the PKK," shouted about 30 demonstrators, relatives of soldiers killed in clashes with the PKK, as Magden arrived at the court.

Turkish men generally take pride in doing military service and the army has for years topped opinion polls as the country's most respected institution.

Before the judge, Magden pleaded not guilty and asserted her right to free speech.

"I cannot believe I'm here today to present a defense," she said. "All I did was to defend the right of conscientious objection... and freedom of expression is a right recognized by the constitution."

The court adjourned the hearing to June 27.

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