Prosecutor demands prison sentence for Akbelen activist Esra Işık
Prosecution has demanded a prison sentence for Esra Işık, an activist on trial for her struggle against urgent expropriation and mining activities in the Milas district of Muğla.
The third hearing of the case took place today at the Milas 3rd Penal Court of First Instance. Işık and her lawyers attended the hearing, which was observed by Aydın Bar Association President Utku Devrim Barış Arslan, city and environment commission observers from the Aydın and İzmir bar associations, and Amnesty International representatives.
The prosecution repeated their opinion from Jun 1, requesting a prison sentence for Işık.
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The prosecutor claimed that Işık used threatening and insulting language against a court delegation on Mar 30, during an exploration by the Milas 2nd Civil Court of First Instance regarding urgent expropriation determinations in the Karacahisar neighborhood.
The prosecutor requested that Işık be punished for the offenses of "consecutively resisting to prevent the performance of duty" and "publicly insulting a public official due to their duty."
'We are trying to defend our land'
Speaking against the opinion, Esra Işık said she repeated her previous defenses. "We have been trying to defend our village and our land for years. We have no intent to commit a crime," she said.
Işık stated that the law should not be made a tool to bleed social wounds and noted she did not agree with the opinion.
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The lawyers of Işık also demanded her acquittal.
Arif Ali Cangı said the defense evidence in the file was not fully collected. The case was not only about the trial of Esra Işık, but that the urgent expropriation process and the intervention in the living spaces of the villagers were also the subject of this file, he argued.
Cangı noted that stay of execution decisions were given in lawsuits filed against urgent expropriation proceedings and expressed that a charge of resisting a public official cannot be established based on exploration proceedings that are not legally valid.
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Lawyer Timur Demirbaş stated that the right to the environment is a fundamental human right and said the action of Işık did not constitute a crime. Demirbaş stated that even if the court holds the opposite opinion, the incident should be evaluated within the scope of the "state of necessity" regulation of the Turkish Penal Code.
Lawyer Melike Özdemir Ballı also requested an acquittal, stating that Işık defended the right to live in a healthy environment guaranteed by Article 56 of the Constitution.
Ruling may be delivered next session
The court stated that the analysis of the videoconference records taken in the second hearing has not yet entered the file. It granted the parties time until the next session to submit written defenses against the opinion on the merits so that the right to defense is not restricted.
The court rejected the request of lawyer Arif Ali Cangı for the expansion of the investigation again, on the grounds that it was previously rejected with an interim decision.
The hearing was postponed to Jul 6,at 2.00 pm local time (GMT+3). The court also announced that a ruling may be delivered in the next session.
Background
Residents living around the Akbelen Forest in Muğla, southwestern Turkey, have been fighting against the Yeniköy and Kemerköy thermal power plants for many years.
Most recently, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urgently expropriated 649 parcels of agricultural land and property in the region with a decision published in the Official Gazette on Jan 10. The justification was to carry out mining to provide coal to the power plant.
On Mar 30, an expert delegation arrived in the Karacahisar neighborhood for an exploration within the scope of the urgent expropriation decision. However, there was no identifying sign on the vehicle. Mistaking those inside the vehicle for company employees, Esra Işık protested the expropriation decision. Her home was raided the same evening, and she was detained and arrested.
A lawsuit was filed against her on charges of "resisting a public official to prevent them from performing their duty" and "insulting a public official."
She was released at a hearing on May 11 after being held in prison for 42 days. However, the case against her continues.
Meanwhile, the Council of State stayed the execution of the urgent expropriation decision of Erdoğan while Işık was being tried.
The family of Esra Işık was also among the families displaced in the past due to mining activities.
(HA/VK)
bianet's Freedom of Expression Reporter since June 2018. After interning at bianet in 2013, he took part in several bianet projects. His news reports and articles have been published on various platforms such as Expression Interrupted, susma24.com, Jıneps, Inside Turkey, and tol.org. He has contributed numerous interviews and articles on freedom of expression. His writings have been translated into several languages, including English, French, Italian, and Circassian. His photographs from the March 8, 2018 Feminist Night March were exhibited by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality. He is the recipient of the 27th Metin Göktepe Journalism Award and holds a degree in journalism from Erciyes University.
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