A court in has rejected the release of environmental activist Esra Işık, who was arrested on Mar 31 after protesting an expropriation process linked to a coal mine planned to supply thermal power plants near Akbelen Forest in Muğla, southwestern Turkey.
Işık appeared before for the first time yesterday. She was brought to the hearing from Şakran Prison in İzmir to the Milas 3rd Penal Court of First Instance by gendarmerie officers, with her hands cuffed. The hearing began at 10 am and lasted over seven hours.
In her defense against the indictment, Işık said she had no criminal intent.
“I did not know the vehicle belonged to the inspection delegation. I thought they were officials who had come for the company,” she said.
After hearing statements and defenses, the prosecutor requested that Işık remain in custody. The court ruled to continue her detention.The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Jun 1.
First visuals reveal extent of deforestation in Akbelen forest due to coal mining
Background
Işık was among the villagers who protested a delegation that came to the village for an inspection related to urgent expropriation decisions covering six villages around the Akbelen area. The protesters objected to the inspection, saying lawsuits challenging the urgent expropriation decisions were still before the Council of State.
Urgent expropriation is frequently used across Turkey to facilitate mining projects, enabling authorities to bypass legal challenges based on local residents’ rights.
“We are calling out to the Council of State from here. We filed lawsuits for 200 parcels. We do not want this expropriation, this place is ours,” Işık told the delegation at the time. "The court delegation has come with the inspection delegation, saying, ‘Write down how many olive trees there are,’ ‘write down how many houses there are.’ We are not numbers. We have lives here.”
Işık was detained at her home in İkizköy on the night of Mar 31 and later formally arrested.
Olive groves opened to mining activities ahead of expert examination in Akbelen Forest
Arif Ali Cangı, one of the lawyers representing the villagers, had said the residents protested because they thought a civilian vehicle arriving for the inspection belonged to company employees.
“This has nothing to do with the law,” Cangı said, criticizing the decision. “This is about breaking the resistance. Before the inspection, we asked the judge to stop the inspections. We said, ‘A stay of execution decision will be issued, do not rush.’ They went to the inspection as if they were trying to smuggle goods out of a fire. They did not even inform us, the lawyers in the case. We also oppose this decision. We want Esra to be released.”
Akbelen Forest has been the site of protests since 2020 against coal mining activities and urgent expropriations connected to the region’s thermal power plants. The source material says many villagers have been displaced during the process and have lost sources of livelihood, including olive groves.
Akbelen resistance
The struggle of the local people and environmental activists against coal mining activities continues since 2020. While they were able to fend off the expansion of the mines for years, tree felling resumed in the area in Jul 2023.
The coal extracted here is used in the region's large thermal power plants. Local residents oppose the expansion of the mine due to concerns that it will damage olive cultivation and agriculture activities, and because their villages would end up within the mining areas, forcing them to relocate. Dozens of villages in the region have been evacuated since the 1990s due to mining activities. (VK)
