A Turkish court on Monday sentenced leading activist Osman Kavala 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. The panel of three judges also jailed seven other defendants for 18 years each on the charge of aiding the attempt to overthrow then-prime ministerRecep Tayyip Erdogan’s government during large-scale protests in 2013. The ruling drew swift condemnation from some of Turkey’s main allies, as well rights campaigners — some of whom emerged from the packed Istanbul courtroom in…