‘Gerze Thermal Power Plant: prison sentence for 37 people

The people who won by fighting against the thermal power plant in the town of Gerze in Sinop were fined 10 years later. 37 people were sentenced to 42 years and 10 months in prison at the 32nd hearing of the case opened on 11 September 2011 on the grounds that they did not allow the work machines to work.

28 January 2021
37 people sentenced to prison in ‘Gerze Thermal Power Plant Resistance’

‘Gerz Thermal Power Plant Resistance’, is known as one of the biggest nature of the struggle in Turkey. In the village of Yaykıl, Anadolu Group made an environmental impact assessment (EIA) application to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization on November 24, 2009, and the people of the region started to fight to defend their nature.

In the First Investigation and Evaluation Commission meeting, the General Directorate of Forestry had stopped the process by stating that the thermal power plant project was intended to be established in the forest area and that the flue gas emissions would adversely affect Gerze and Sinop. The company was returned to the EIA file revised in 2012 and 2013, underlining that there was no change in the subject of objection.

The thermal power plant was canceled in 2015 on the grounds that it was against the Forestry Law. After the nature struggle on September 5, 2011, villagers’ violation of the freedom of work and employment, resisting the security forces to not do their duty, damaging public property, deliberately setting fire on the land, participating in illegal meetings and demonstration marches because they did not let the construction machines of the company into the region. The trial of 37 people for the charges of organizing and managing unlawful meetings and demonstrations started.

The 32nd hearing of the case was held on January 26, 2021. 37 citizens who were tried in the case were sentenced to 42 years and 10 months in prison for the crimes mentioned.

Spokesperson of the Green Gerze Environment Platform at that time, who made a statement regarding the case,

https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/gerze-termik-santral-direnisine-37-kisiye-hapis-cezasi-1809631