Akbelen forest defender sentenced after 2023 felling for coal mine
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Trees in the Akbelen forest in Turkey were cut in 2023 to widen a coal mining area, and a defender of the forest was later sentenced to prison. The sources reviewed do not give the area cleared or its effect on wildlife.
- YK Enerji (owned by Limak and İçtaş) — wider coal mining area at Akbelen Yetkin Report
- Yatağan Termik and YK Enerji — gain under the 2025 olive-grove article, according to the producers' challenge bianet
- Olive producers in Milas and Yatağan — mapped olive groves opened to mining under the 2025 law; 77 producers took the law to the Council of State bianet
- Akbelen forest — trees felled in 2023 Yetkin Report
- A local defender of the forest — sentenced to two years and one month in prison Amnesty International
What happened
Yetkin Report reported on 26 July 2023 that felling had begun in the Akbelen forest to widen a coal field.
Reports say the trees were cut in 2023 under gendarmerie escort for YK Enerji, a company jointly owned by Limak and İçtaş.
Amnesty International reported in 2026 that a defender in Akbelen had been sentenced to two years and one month in prison.
Halk TV reported on 20 June 2025 a YK Enerji letter asking the Privatisation Administration for extra funds to acquire land it could not expropriate under olive-grove rules.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- OngoingAkbelen expropriation and valuation casesCouncil of State (Danıştay) · Administrative · Not stated in the sources reviewed → Not stated in the sources reviewed
The Council of State halted expropriation and valuation cases for about 194 parcels until its final decision, Cumhuriyet reported in 2026. Cumhuriyet
Insurers
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The court, charge and date of the defender's sentence are not stated in the sources reviewed.
- None on record One source ties 679 parcels in urgent expropriation to Akbelen; another ties 679 parcels to İkizköy. The sources disagree on which site the figure refers to.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not give the area of forest cleared or its effect on wildlife.
- None on record The company's own account of the 2023 felling and the 2025 letter is not stated in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Felling at AkbelenYetkin Report · 2023-07-26
- YK Enerji letterHalk TV · 2025-06-20
Communities and civil society
- Conviction in AkbelenAmnesty International · 2026
Connected cases
- Akbelen forest felling for YK Enerji coal mine (Türkiye) Türkiye · 2021–2026 Related matter
- YK Enerji (İçtaş and Limak partnership) (Company) — here: Company for which the trees were cut; there: Owner of coal-fired power plants; mining operator at Akbelen (Limak and İçtaş partnership)
- Limak (Company) — here: Partner in YK Enerji; there: Partner in YK Enerji
- İçtaş (Company) — here: Partner in YK Enerji; there: Partner in YK Enerji
- Milas–Yatağan olive groves opened to mining (Law 7554, temporary article 45) Turkey · 2022–2026
- YK Enerji (İçtaş and Limak partnership) (Company) — here: Company for which the trees were cut; there: Partnership of İçtaş and Limak; recorded beneficiary
- Yatağan Termik (Company) — here: Coal plant named as a gainer under the 2025 olive-grove article; there: Power plant operator; recorded beneficiary
- Turkish holdings' coal expansion alongside renewables (Cenal, Akbelen, İçdaş) Türkiye · 2021–2026
- Limak (Company) — here: Partner in YK Enerji; there: Co-owner of YK Enerji; coal and solar assets