They were all fielded by the opposition in what was seen as a move of defiance against the authorities for launching several controversial probes that have seen hundreds of people, among them intellectual and Kurdish activists, land in court in recent years.

They are now expected to be released to join parliament, but will still face trial.

Popular journalist Mustafa Balbay and academic Mehmet Haberal were elected as candidates of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in Sunday's parliamentary polls, while retired general Engin Alan won a seat on the ticket of the second largest opposition force, the Nationalist Action Party.

They are on trial as part of sprawling investigations into alleged plots to destabilise and overthrow the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP), which won a third straight term in power in Sunday's polls with almost 50 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results.

The probes, hailed initially as a long-belated move to rein in the intrusive army, have come under fire for having degenerated into a government-backed campaign to bully critics.

Two other suspects -- jurist Ilhan Cihaner and businessman Sinan Aygun -- who spent stints in jail but were later released -- also won seats on the CHP ticket.

Poised to win their freedom are also six Kurdish activists, jailed as part of a probe into separatist Kurdish rebels fighting Ankara since 1984.

Among them is Hatip Dicle, a prominent Kurdish figure who served briefly as a lawmaker in the early 1990s.

The six are among 36 people elected with the support of the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, which fielded its candidates as independents to go round a 10-percent national threshold that parties need to pass to enter parliament.