A Turkish court on Tuesday ordered the pretrial detention of local activist Esra Işık for protesting a land survey linked to a coal mine expansion in southwestern Muğla province, where villagers are still fighting the project in court.
According to Turkish media, Işık on Monday objected to a land survey by officials from the Directorate General of Mining and Petroleum, saying residents did not want their property rights affected while their case remained pending before the Council of State. She also urged the court to issue its ruling without delay.
She was detained later that night on an accusation of preventing public officials from doing their job and was referred to court, with a prosecutor requesting her arrest. A criminal court of peace in Milas ordered her pretrial detention.
The case stems from a dispute over olive groves near Muğla’s Akbelen Forest, where YK Energy, a joint venture between Limak Holding and İbrahim Çeçen (IC) Holding, plans to expand a coal mine to supply the nearby Yeniköy-Kemerköy thermal power plant. Local residents have resisted the project since 2019.
Seventy-seven residents from 10 villages in the Milas and Yatağan districts of Muğla who own olive groves have filed a lawsuit with the Council of State. Following an urgent presidential expropriation order, a separate proceeding at the Milas 2nd Civil Court of First Instance was initiated to determine the value of the land and the terms of expropriation. The survey was conducted as part of those proceedings.
Işık’s mother, İkizköy village head Nejla Işık, condemned the arrest in front of the Milas Courthouse.
Greenpeace Turkey criticized the arrest in a statement on social media, saying “not those defending nature, water and their future but those responsible for environmental destruction should be held accountable.”
The İzmir Bar Association also issued a statement criticizing the arrest, calling it “an attempt to silence dissent.” It called for the immediate release of Işık, who it said was being prosecuted for exercising a constitutional right.
YK Energy’s earlier attempts to work in olive groves had been blocked by Law No. 3573. But a legislative package that came into force on August 4, 2025, opened olive grove areas to mining, allowing companies supplying electricity to relocate trees from these lands and requiring them to restore orchards once operations are complete.
Although the law explicitly bans cutting down olive trees, companies have continued operations under the pretext of “relocating” them. The regulation has attracted strong criticism from environmentalists, farmers and opposition politicians, who warn it paves the way for the eventual destruction of the country’s olive groves.
The villagers argue that the amendment violates the constitution and have asked the Council of State to refer the case to the Constitutional Court while seeking a suspension of the regulation.
