Trees cut in Turkey's northeast highlands despite court ruling

RİZE – Doğan News Agency

DHA Photos

Trees have been cut in Ausor, Haczane and Husor highlands in the Çamlıhemşin district of the Black Sea region for a controversial road project on July 14, a day after a court ruling which halted the execution of the massive road construction project. 

The construction vehicles were sent from Yukarı Kavron and Samistal highlands in Rize to the Ausor, Haczane and Husor after the protests and cut many trees in this area. 

On July 13, a local court suspended the execution of a controversial road project to connect the upland villages of eight Black Sea provinces in Turkey, after protests against the plans from locals and environmentalists.

The ruling, issued by the Rize Administrative Court in a case filed by the environmental activist group Storm Initiative (Fırtına İnsiyatifi) against the “Green Road” project, a 2,600-kilometer road project planned to connect upland villages of eight provinces in the region.

As the protests continued, Rize Governor Ersin Yazıcı claimed that the trees were not cut as part of the road project. “We did not cut even one tree. We love nature too,” he said.