Ankara has deliberately "destroyed" its chances of EU accession by imprisoning philanthropist Osman Kavala, the European Parliament said in a resolution condemning the life sentence handed down to the human rights activist.

"The current Turkish Government has deliberately destroyed any hopes of reopening its EU accession process," the European Parliament said Thursday.

The European Parliament resolution strongly condemned Kavala's life sentence handed down by an Istanbul court last week on charges of attempting to overthrow Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.

The verdict by Istanbul's 13th Higher Criminal Court concerns the 64-year-old man's alleged role in nationwide protests against the government in 2013 that began in Istanbul's Gezi Park. Kavala denies the charges.

 The European Parliament called Kavala's detention "unjust and illegal," demanding his immediate release.

The resolution calls on Turkey to fully comply with all European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings and immediately release Kavala along with seven other defendants in the Gezi case.

In December 2019, the ECHR found that Turkey used detention for political purposes, violating Kavala's rights, including his right to liberty, and acting in bad faith. The court demanded Kavala's immediate release.

“Turkey needs to make concrete and sustained progress in the respect of fundamental rights. As a long-standing member of the Council of Europe, it must implement the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, as legal obligations. Turkey is no exception,” EU High Representative and Vice-President Josep Borrell told the EP debate on Kavala on Thursday before the vote.

Turkey began accession talks with the EU in 2005, promising to strengthen its democracy, guarantee the rule of law and bring the rules governing the economy in line with the bloc's rules. But the EU froze accession talks with Turkey after a military coup attempt in 2016, when the country drifted further away from European democratic standards.