Turkish authorities have subjected environmental protesters to dozens of criminal investigations, detentions and alleged mistreatment by security forces, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released Tuesday, less than a month before the country hosts the United Nations COP31 climate summit.
In its October 13 report, HRW said at least 55 people had faced criminal investigations over protests against coal mining near Akbelen Forest in southwestern Turkey, while six others had been prosecuted. The organization also documented the detention of some 15 demonstrators, including two minors and an 84-year-old woman, during a protest against gold exploration in the eastern Black Sea region.
The findings concern protests against the expansion of coal mining near Akbelen Forest in Muğla province and gold exploration on the Perşembe Plateau and surrounding areas in Ordu province, where residents have raised concerns about damage to forests, water resources and agricultural livelihoods.
In Akbelen four of the six residents prosecuted since 2023 were convicted of resisting public officials and have appealed their convictions, while two were acquitted.
One protester, 63-year-old Ahmet Tatar, said prosecutors had opened 10 investigations into him, eight of which were still ongoing. He was detained three times and acquitted in two prosecutions, although prosecutors appealed both acquittals. One has since been upheld.
Tatar also accused gendarmes, members of Turkey’s rural law enforcement force, of assaulting him during a September 2023 protest. He said officers struck him, forced him to the ground and pressed on his neck and back. Although he filed complaints identifying the officers and submitted medical reports documenting his injuries, the court dismissed his complaints.
HRW also documented legal proceedings against other protesters, including environmental activist Esra Işık, who spent 42 days in pretrial detention after being detained during a March protest against land expropriation in Muğla.
A Turkish court sentenced Işık in July to two years, one month in prison for resisting public officials. Her lawyers have appealed the conviction.
The report also documented allegations of excessive force during a July 29 demonstration on the Perşembe Plateau, where more than 50 residents gathered to oppose gold exploration.
Four men interviewed by HRW said they were among at least 11 people taken to a gendarmerie station and held for approximately eight hours without being informed of the grounds for their detention or whether they were under criminal investigation. One said officers required some detainees to sign a document promising not to attend further demonstrations.
Several residents described physical mistreatment during the operation. Nuriye Dilek, 48, and another woman said gendarmes dragged them away from the protest and forced them into an unmarked vehicle. HRW researchers observed bruising on both women six days later.
Another protester, Leyla Acerce, 40, said gendarmes pushed her into a circle formed by officers carrying shields, causing her to faint. She alleged that officers dragged her away and left her outside in heavy rain for hours before she was taken to a hospital. Acerce said a medical report documenting her injuries was provided to police, but the hospital refused to give her a copy.
Residents also reported repeated identity checks, questioning about social media activity and pressure on family members. The elderly woman detained during the protest said gendarmes contacted her sons in other cities and told them to prevent her from attending further demonstrations.
The authorities also imposed administrative and traffic penalties on demonstrators, which residents described as retaliation for their environmental activism.
At least 17 motorists attending an anti-mining protest on August 1 received traffic fines, primarily for alleged parking violations. Vehicle owners challenged the penalties in court.
The gold exploration project is itself being challenged in court. A court-appointed expert assessment in June warned that exploration could disrupt groundwater resources essential to local communities and livestock farming.
A subsequent expert report dated September 7, prepared by a nine-member panel after the Ordu Administrative Court requested additional analysis, identified potential damage to pastures, water resources and tourism. The findings do not constitute a final court ruling against the project.
HRW also highlighted investigations targeting lawyers and journalists involved in environmental disputes. Lawyer Arif Ali Cangı is under investigation over social media remarks criticizing mining activities in Akbelen, while an investigation opened into journalist Zeynep Kuray in 2023 for allegedly spreading misleading information was closed in 2024.
In a separate case ahead of July’s NATO summit in Ankara, 13 volunteers and staff members associated with the environmental organization TEMA were put in pretrial detention, while another 14 were subjected to house arrest as part of an investigation involving allegations of membership in armed organizations.
According to a statement by TEMA, all 13 had been released by July 21, and the house arrest restrictions on the others were lifted July 27. The investigation and travel bans continued.
HRW based its findings on interviews conducted in August with 23 people, including 15 local residents, six lawyers and two journalists. Researchers also examined court records, indictments, administrative penalties, medical reports and photographs documenting injuries.
The organization said it wrote in September to Turkey’s Interior Ministry and prosecutors’ offices in Muğla, Ordu and Giresun seeking information and responses to its findings. None had responded by the time the report was published.
The findings come as Turkey prepares to host COP31 in Antalya November 9-20. A host-country agreement between Turkey and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which entered into force September 18, requires inclusive and nondiscriminatory conference arrangements and provides legal protections for accredited participants concerning statements and actions connected to their participation.
Those protections do not amount to a general guarantee of immunity for environmental protesters demonstrating elsewhere in Turkey.
Turkish civil society organizations are meanwhile preparing an alternative People’s Climate Summit alongside COP31, including discussions, workshops and a demonstration planned for November 14. The initiative aims to give environmental organizations and local communities an opportunity to raise concerns about mining, fossil fuel projects and climate policy.
HRW warned that prolonged investigations and prosecutions were discouraging environmental activism and called on governments attending COP31 to press Turkey to respect freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and ensure that environmental defenders can participate without intimidation.
