The Turkish government is facing accusations of illegal land seizure after authorities bulldozed private farmland in the country’s earthquake-hit south without a final court ruling or prior notice to residents, the Antakya daily reported.
Early Wednesday state crews accompanied by gendarmes entered agricultural plots in Hatay province’s Samandağ district and began uprooting olive and citrus trees under an “urgent expropriation” order. Villagers say they were never notified and that lawsuits challenging the decision to seize the land are still ongoing.
“This is state-sanctioned theft,” Cuma Irmak, a lawyer representing residents, said. “They destroyed their orchards before the court could even rule.”
The move has sparked outrage in a region still recovering from the devastating February 2023 earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and northern Syria.
The government says the expropriations are needed for rapid reconstruction, including public housing to be built by the Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ). But no official explanation has been given for why these particular plots were selected or what they will be used for.
Farmers say the land, cultivated for generations, is their only source of income.
Footage from the scene shows heavy machinery uprooting decades-old olive trees while villagers plead with security forces. At least two residents reportedly fainted during the confrontation.
“There are thousands of acres of unused public land nearby,” Irmak said. “Instead, they targeted the most fertile, privately owned soil, without due process, without respect for the law.”
The legal tool used, known as “urgent expropriation,” allows the Turkish government to bypass standard procedure in cases of emergency or public interest. But rights advocates warn it is increasingly being deployed without transparency or due diligence, particularly in earthquake zones.
In this case, residents say they received no prior notification, no consultation and no compensation. Several legal challenges were already filed against the expropriation before the government moved forward with the demolition.
The land seizures have sparked a fast-growing social media campaign under the hashtag #SamandağlınınTapusunaDokunma, (Don’t touch Samandağ’s title deeds) Activists, journalists and citizens have flooded X with footage and testimonials, accusing the government of violating property rights and enabling corporate encroachment under the guise of public interest.
Journalist Gülnur Saydam wrote on X that villagers have been resisting for months to protect their titled olive and citrus groves. She described how authorities and gendarmes intervened early Wednesday as villagers stood guard on their land, resulting in injuries and elderly residents being hospitalized after clashes.
The campaign has drawn support from local and national media, opposition lawmakers and human rights groups. Critics argue the expropriations are being used to hand over land to private developers under the guise of reconstruction. In some cases earlier seizures were reportedly paused after social media outcry, but the most recent actions indicate a renewed push by the authorities.
“These lands didn’t fall in the quake,” said one protester. “It was the government that destroyed them.”
The Hatay Governor’s Office has not commented on the operation. Local authorities have also not clarified whether any environmental assessments or community consultations were conducted before the expropriation.
