{"id":124792,"date":"2026-07-08T02:05:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T02:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/124792\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T02:05:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T02:05:13","slug":"turkish-court-sentences-environmental-activist-esra-isik-to-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/124792\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkish court sentences environmental activist Esra I\u015f\u0131k to prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A Turkish court has sentenced environmental activist Esra I\u015f\u0131k to more than two years in prison for her role in protests against the seizure of land for coal mining near Akbelen Forest in the western province of Mu\u011fla, in one of Turkey\u2019s most closely watched environmental campaigns, Turkish Minute<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

The Milas 3rd Criminal Court of First Instance on Monday sentenced I\u015f\u0131k to more than two years in prison for \u201cresisting a public official to prevent them from performing their duty\u201d and imposed a fine of 44,200 Turkish lira ($950) for \u201cinsulting a public official,\u201d according to Amnesty International.<\/p>\n

Although the court suspended the fine for the insult charge, I\u015f\u0131k has the right to appeal both convictions at an appeals court.<\/p>\n

I\u015f\u0131k, a prominent figure in the campaign against the expansion of coal mining in Akbelen Forest, was arrested<\/a> on March 31 and held in pretrial detention for 42 days after taking part in a peaceful protest against an urgent expropriation decision\u00a0affecting more than 600 parcels of land in the Akbelen Forest area.<\/p>\n

The expropriation decision is intended to pave the way for the expansion of coal mining activities in Mu\u011fla, which environmental groups say would lead to deforestation and the loss of local livelihoods.<\/p>\n

Amnesty International\u00a0criticized<\/a>\u00a0I\u015f\u0131k\u2019s conviction in a statement on Monday, calling it \u201ca devastating blow\u201d to her and to those trying to protect rural settlements and farmland from mining expansion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is unconscionable that Esra I\u015f\u0131k has been convicted and could be facing imprisonment if her conviction is upheld on appeal, simply for defending her community and the local environment,\u201d Esther Major, Amnesty International\u2019s deputy regional director for Europe, said in the statement.<\/p>\n

Major called on Turkish authorities to stop misusing the criminal justice system to crack down on dissent and instead protect the right to protest.<\/p>\n

The conviction came two months after Turkey\u2019s Council of State, the country\u2019s highest administrative court, suspended the expropriation order that triggered the protests.<\/p>\n

The court said the government had failed to show the urgency required for such a measure and warned that carrying it out could cause irreparable harm.<\/p>\n

Akbelen Forest has become a symbol of environmental resistance in Turkey since residents began opposing plans to expand coal mining in the area several years ago.<\/p>\n

The coal is intended to supply the nearby Yenik\u00f6y and Kemerk\u00f6y coal-fired power plants, operated by Yenik\u00f6y-Kemerk\u00f6y Energy. The company says the expansion is necessary to secure fuel supplies for the plants.<\/p>\n

The Council of State\u2019s suspension order applies only to the parcels included in lawsuits challenging a January presidential urgent expropriation decision for agricultural land near Akbelen Forest.<\/p>\n

It does not cancel the wider legal changes passed by parliament in July 2025 under Law No. 7554, which eased mining permit procedures and allowed mining in some olive groves. A separate case seeking to overturn that law remains pending before Turkey\u2019s Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n

Yenik\u00f6y-Kemerk\u00f6y Energy, jointly owned by Limak Holding and \u0130\u00e7ta\u015f Holding, says the ruling does not affect all parcels included in the government\u2019s expropriation order.<\/p>\n

The case is part of a wider struggle over Akbelen Forest that has drawn international attention.<\/p>\n

I\u015f\u0131k\u2019s mother, Nejla I\u015f\u0131k, a village head and forest campaigner, was\u00a0named<\/a>\u00a0by the BBC as one of the 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2024 for leading a five-year campaign against deforestation to make way for mining activities in western Turkey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Turkish court has sentenced environmental activist Esra I\u015f\u0131k to more than two years in prison for her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[83],"tags":[34366,1237,20099,32534,45191,312,18503,5838,61139,61140,131,132,155,61141],"class_list":["post-124792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-stockholm","tag-akbelen-forest","tag-amnesty-international","tag-council-of-state","tag-esra-isik","tag-expropriation","tag-human-rights","tag-insulting-a-public-official","tag-mugla","tag-nejla-isik","tag-resisting-a-public-official","tag-stockholm","tag-sweden","tag-turkey","tag-yenikoy-kemerkoy-energy"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116881911314200572","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}