On 6 July, a court in Milas in the Muğla province of south-west Türkiye convicted environmental human rights defender Esra Işık for «resisting a public official to prevent them from performing their duty» and «insulting a public official». Esra Işık was prosecuted for her participation in a peaceful protest against an urgent expropriation decision affecting villages near Akbelen forest, including her home village of İkizköy. Esra Işık is appealing her conviction and remains at liberty pending the outcome of the appeal.
On 6 July, at the fourth hearing of her trial, environmental human rights defender Esra Işık was found guilty of «resisting a public official to prevent them from performing their duty» (Article 265 of the Turkish Penal Code) and «insulting a public official» (Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code). She was sentenced to two years and one month in prison for the first charge and fined 44,200 Turkish Lira for the second. The court deferred the announcement of the verdict on the insult charge for five years. Esra Işık is appealing her conviction and remains at liberty pending the outcome of the appeal.
Speaking outside the courthouse following the verdict, Esra Işık said: «During this period, when I was unjustly imprisoned, deprived of my freedom, prosecuted and punished, every letter you sent, every message you wrote, every word of encouragement, and every act of solidarity you showed in the courtroom and outside the prison reminded me that I was not alone. This experience has reminded me of something deeply important: there are still people in this country who refuse to bow to injustice. There are people who, even without knowing one another, can share the same pain and the same hope. That is where my hope lies. For this, I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart.» Esra Işık was arrested on 30 March after participating in a peaceful protest against an urgent expropriation decision affecting villages around Akbelen Forest, where local communities have long opposed the expansion of coal mining. She was held in pretrial detention for 42 days before being released on 11 May, after a Council of State decision suspending the execution of the expropriation order affecting 679 parcels of land.
Amnesty International considers that Esra Işık was prosecuted solely for peacefully exercising her human rights. Her baseless conviction is the latest example of the criminalization of environmental human rights defenders and peaceful protest more generally by the authorities in Türkiye. Amnesty International will continue to call on the Turkish authorities to protect the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and to end the misuse of the criminal justice system against those defending human rights and the environment.
No further action is requested. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.
