A Turkish court ruled on Thursday to keep human rights activist Osman Kavala in custody, NTV reported.

Kavala was detained at Istanbul airport on 18 October 2017. On 1 November the same year, the court ordered his detention for "attempting to change the constitutional order and overthrow the current government". The Turkish authorities believed the human rights defender was involved in protests that took place in 2013.

In October last year, the ambassadors of the US, Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Norway and New Zealand called for Kavala's release, after which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan instructed the Foreign Ministry to declare the diplomats persona non grata. The diplomatic missions of these countries later announced their intention to respect the laws and decisions of the Turkish leadership. After that, the crisis was over.

In February this year, an Istanbul court decided to acquit and release the activist, but later that day the prosecutor's office sanctioned his detention again.