21.04.2025 15:03
The fourth hearing of the case of the "Newborn Gang," which has touched the heart of Turkey, began with a roll call around 10:15 AM. Mustafa Kemal Zengin, who threatened Prosecutor Yavuz Engin, is sitting in the defendant's chair for the first time.
A recent indictment was prepared regarding the second wave operation against the Newborn Gang, which provided unfair profits by transferring babies to hospitals they had agreements with and caused their deaths through negligent behavior. The number of defendants has risen to 58 with the indictment prepared against individuals identified as acting together with gang leader Fırat Sarı, which was combined with the main case file.
4TH HEARING IN PROGRESS
The trial of the 58 defendants included in the new indictment is continuing today in the 4th hearing at the Bakırköy 22nd High Criminal Court.
FIRST TIME IN THE DEFENDANT'S CHAIR
Mustafa Kemal Zengin, who threatened Public Prosecutor Yavuz Engin in his office, took his place as a defendant in the courtroom for the first time.
FROM THE INDICTMENT
The indictment prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office mentions 47 defendants and 19 healthcare institutions, stating that 10 babies lost their lives. It was revealed in the indictment that the main purpose of the criminal organization led by Fırat Sarı, managed by İlker Gönen and Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir, was to ensure the occupancy of the newborn intensive care units they took over by circumventing the 112 transfer system, and to receive payments from SGK at the upper limit by manipulating the patients' stages. The indictment also stated that the gang committed document forgery by misrepresenting the patients' current conditions (e.g., presenting intubated patients as non-intubated and vice versa, billing SGK for unused medications as if they were used), and obtained financial benefits through processes such as charging extra fees under various names from some patients' relatives.
EXCESSIVE PROFITS FROM BABIES
The indictment states that most of the suspects are healthcare workers and that these workers also received a share of the profits. It was noted in the indictment that instead of transferring baby patients to hospitals that would provide appropriate healthcare services, the suspects admitted them to hospitals they deemed profitable on behalf of the organization, indicating that the aim was not to improve the health status of the babies but to maximize financial gain.
LEADER FIRAT SARI
The indictment recorded that the admission of babies to newborn intensive care units, which are open to all kinds of infections, caused some babies to suffer from infections and even death. It was noted that the suspects obtained financial gains by illegally removing and selling drugs such as currosurf and infasurf from the hospital, and that due to the transfer of operations in violation of the Private Hospitals Regulation, the Newborn Criminal Organization led by Fırat Sarı attempted to provide services to many hospitals with a small number of doctors, resulting in healthcare being provided directly by nurses and even nurse assistants, which increased the number of baby deaths. The indictment also stated that nurses introduced themselves as doctors, some members of the organization filled the newborn intensive care units beyond capacity, and that false epicrisis reports were written by nurses in violation of procedures. The digital materials examined during the investigation revealed that the suspects categorized babies as good or bad based on their observations without conducting any actual tests or analyses, and wrote their reports as templates from a single source, outside the hospital.
THEY KEPT BABIES IN INTENSIVE CARE FOR A LONG TIME
As a result, there were uncertainties about which treatment to apply to which baby, leading to irreparable consequences, including the loss of babies' lives. According to the opinions of a specialized team of neonatologists assigned by the Health Ministry's Inspection Board to investigate and report on the activities of the relevant hospitals and the criminal organization regarding baby deaths, it was determined that there were medical impossibilities in hospitals, lack of early diagnosis and treatment, absence of direct physician supervision, failure to conduct necessary tests and analyses, discontinuation of life-saving medications, acceptance of patients as third-level despite not being a third-level facility, doctors not taking responsibility for the clinical follow-up and treatment of patients, concealment of causes of death by doctors, and that babies were deprived of their right to life due to passive euthanasia applied to patients, among other findings.
THE INDICTMENT ALSO INCLUDED TAPES
The indictment also mentioned that some babies experienced significant weight loss instead of gaining weight after entering intensive care, and that the Newborn Criminal Organization and the hospital administrations assisting the organization failed to provide sufficient nutrition to the babies solely to reduce costs and obtain financial benefits, with instructions such as "reduce TPN consumption" found in the tapes. Within the scope of the indictment, it was requested that defendants Fırat Sarı and İlker Gönen be sentenced to a total of 177 years and 6 months to 582 years and 9 months in prison for charges including 'manslaughter by negligence', 'qualified fraud', 'establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime', and 'forgery in official documents' 11 times.
Elbette, mevcut HTML yapısını bozmadan metni İngilizceye çevirebilirim. İşte çeviri:
```html
The defendant Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir is facing a request for imprisonment ranging from 180 years to 589 years and 9 months for the crimes of 'manslaughter through negligent behavior', 'unlawful acquisition of personal data', 'fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations', 'establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime', and 'forgery in official documents'. The indictment also requested varying sentences for the other defendants for similar crimes.
```
Eğer HTML içinde img tagları varsa ve onların title ve alt taglerini de çevirmemi isterseniz, lütfen o tagları da paylaşın.