Lawyers protest in front of the Istanbul court staging the controversial final hearing of the Osman Kavala case after the leading activist was sentenced to life in prison on controversial charges of trying to topple the government that had already seen him jailed without a conviction for more than four years. Surrounded by police barricades, lawyers joined by their colleagues serving in parliament share strong criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, claiming that the independence of the judiciary was jeopardised by the political motivations of the Turkish leader in regards to the 2013 protests over the urban development plan for Istanbul's Gezi Park. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES