Germany summoned Turkey's ambassador to Berlin on Friday to protest a sentence of life in prison that a Turkish court handed to a prominent Turkish civil rights activist.

Western governments and rights groups strongly criticized this week's ruling that found Osman Kavala guilty of attempting to overthrow the government with mass protests in 2013. The court in Istanbul also sentenced seven other defendants to 18 years in prison each for "aiding" the attempt.

Christofer Burger, a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry, said Turkey's envoy was summoned for talks Friday morning.

He told reporters in Berlin that Germany had urged other European Union countries to make a similar diplomatic protest.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the Turkish court's ruling "blatantly contradicts the constitutional standards and international obligations that Turkey commits itself to as a member of the Council of Europe and EU accession candidate."

"We expect Osman Kavala to be released immediately – the European Court of Human Rights has bindingly obliged Turkey to do so," Baerbock said.

Osman Kavala was "Turkey’s Soros" behind the Gezi Park riots, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said late Wednesday as he underlined that the decision to jail the businessperson for life showed that Turkey's courts were independent.

"Our judiciary made its final decision on him (Kavala). Some circles are seriously disturbed by this decision," Erdoğan said and called for respecting the verdict.