A Turkish court has sentenced environmental activist Esra Işık 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 Muğla, in one of Turkey’s most closely watched environmental campaigns.
The Milas 3rd Criminal Court of First Instance on Monday sentenced Işık to more than two years in prison for “resisting a public official to prevent them from performing their duty” and imposed a fine of 44,200 Turkish lira ($950) for “insulting a public official,” according to Amnesty International.
Although the court suspended the fine for the insult charge, Işık has the right to appeal both convictions at an appeals court.
Işık, a prominent figure in the campaign against the expansion of coal mining in Akbelen Forest, was arrested on March 31 and held in pretrial detention for 42 days after taking part in a peaceful protest against an urgent expropriation decision affecting more than 600 parcels of land in the Akbelen Forest area.
The expropriation decision is intended to pave the way for the expansion of coal mining activities in Muğla, which environmental groups say would lead to deforestation and the loss of local livelihoods.
Amnesty International criticized Işık’s conviction in a statement on Monday, calling it “a devastating blow” to her and to those trying to protect rural settlements and farmland from mining expansion.
“It is unconscionable that Esra Işık has been convicted and could be facing imprisonment if her conviction is upheld on appeal, simply for defending her community and the local environment,” Esther Major, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for Europe, said in the statement.
Major called on Turkish authorities to stop misusing the criminal justice system to crack down on dissent and instead protect the right to protest.
The conviction came two months after Turkey’s Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, suspended the expropriation order that triggered the protests.
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.
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.
The coal is intended to supply the nearby Yeniköy and Kemerköy coal-fired power plants, operated by Yeniköy-Kemerköy Energy. The company says the expansion is necessary to secure fuel supplies for the plants.
The Council of State’s suspension order applies only to the parcels included in lawsuits challenging a January presidential urgent expropriation decision for agricultural land near Akbelen Forest.
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’s Constitutional Court.
Yeniköy-Kemerköy Energy, jointly owned by Limak Holding and İçtaş Holding, says the ruling does not affect all parcels included in the government’s expropriation order.