20.02.2025 14:31
The third hearing of the Newborn Gang case, which has caused a public outcry, is continuing on the third day. The lawyer of the defendant, Fırat Sarı, stated, "We need to be discussing the evidence in the trial, but there is no evidence to discuss. There is an investigation based on tape recordings. There is nothing else. It is as if the premature birth of the babies, their birth weight of 500 grams, is being presented as my client's crime."
The third hearing of the Newborn Gang case, which has caused the deaths of many babies by providing unfair profits through the transfer of emergency baby patients to hospitals with which they had prior agreements and by exhibiting negligent behavior, continues on the third day. Following the suicide of the imprisoned doctor İlker Gönen in the prison where he was held, the number of detained defendants has reached 46. The case, in which 46 defendants, 25 of whom are in custody, are being tried, is being heard at the Bakırköy 22nd High Criminal Court.
"THERE IS NO EVIDENCE IN THE 18 FOLDER FILES THAT ACCUSES MY CLIENT"
During the hearing, the lawyer of the organization leader Fırat Sarı stated, "I do not think the prosecutor acted impartially during the preparation phase. We need to discuss the evidence in this trial, but there is no evidence to discuss. There is an investigation based on tape recordings. There is nothing else. If there is any suspicious death, an autopsy must be performed. Everyone knows this, but the preparatory prosecutor did not request it. Autopsy reports need to be obtained at the court stage. We need to know what we are being accused of. Clearly, there is a charge of negligence. The prosecutor did not collect the evidence. There is no evidence in the 18 folder files that accuses my client. My client says in the conversations, 'Let them look at everything, I have no crime.' What will you do if I say, 'I reject all the tape recordings submitted to the file regarding my client'?"
"IT IS AS IF THE BABIES BEING BORN AT 500 GRAMS IS MY CLIENT'S FAULT"
Continuing his speech, Sarı's lawyer said, "The Court of Cassation says 'the analysis of the audio recordings needs to be done.' My client stated in his defense, 'If I killed a baby, the investigation should have started after the first baby death.' 'Why did they watch the baby deaths, why did they not collect evidence? If I am guilty, those who follow me are also guilty,' says my client. It is as if the premature birth of babies, being born at 500 grams is presented as my client's fault. The prosecutor must be impartial. They need to do something in favor of the defendant as well. Therefore, autopsy reports need to be obtained," he said.
"THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE CASE IS QUALIFIED FRAUD"
The lawyer of the detained defendant Damla Atak stated, "We do not accept the negative aspects regarding the witnesses who were listened to. All witnesses were related to the main purpose of the case, which is qualified fraud, not related to death. For 18 days, we are discussing whether the public was defrauded and who suffered how much loss. My client and the other defendants have been in custody for more than 10 months. They are detained without it being clear whether they participated in qualified fraud or caused harm to the public. We want to determine where the harm originated. It appears that evidence in favor of my client has not been collected," he said.
"ONE OF THE DEFENDANT CHAIRS IS EMPTY"
Nazan Işık, the lawyer of Dursun Eryılmaz, stated, "One of the defendant chairs is empty. Unfortunately, neither release nor acquittal is based on these situations. There is an empty chair here. İlker Gönen could not be fully protected due to the failure to protect these rights. I wish patience to his relatives. These detained defendants were sent to various parts of Turkey as soon as the indictment was served. There are three reasons for this, one of which was the inability to ensure their safety. İlker Gönen was also sent to Antalya for security reasons. We know that even when he was taken into custody, the laces of his shoes were taken. According to the public, it was suicide; according to us, it was not a security reason. This death, whether suicide or murder, is a matter of concern for us. We have expectations from justice. We want to touch those pieces of evidence so that there can be a comprehensive trial. Why is the person in Istanbul being sent to Afyon, Antalya? The right to defense is being obstructed, esteemed committee. Not only psychological collapse but also physical collapse has begun. If you were going to protect them, why did you share the file with the press as 'baby killer' in the indictment? As defenders, we cannot touch it; who leaked it? Who could leak it while the prosecutor has a confidentiality order? We want to learn how this was leaked. If you are going to protect, why did you give it to the press as 'baby killer'? All of this has caused İlker Gönen's death. They have been in prison for about 10 months and are kept in solitary confinement. The only thing that can clear us is the Forensic Medicine reports. You arrested them based on an expert report. If there is no patient file, if no document comes from the hospital, how did the investigation prosecutor do this? Your court cannot obtain these. We are currently trying to gather the investigation processes. If there is no patient file, what did the medical experts examine? Those tapes were destroyed in December. Unfortunately, we learned that we will not be able to touch those pieces of evidence," she said.
"WHO IS DETAINED FOR FRAUD AND WHO IS A BABY KILLER SHOULD BE EVALUATED SEPARATELY"
The lawyer of the detained defendant Deniz Korkmaz stated, "The file is being evaluated as a whole; it should be evaluated separately who is detained only for fraud and who is a baby killer. I request his release due to the lack of suspicion of evidence tampering and the fact that his name does not appear anywhere in the expert report. If you are of a different opinion, we request house arrest."
Meanwhile, the hearing was adjourned for 30 minutes after the defendant Murat Mantuş fell ill. After the break, the hearing will continue with the defenses of the defendant's lawyers.
3-YEAR PROFESSIONAL BAN
With the decision of the Health Professions Board of the Ministry of Health, the doctors, nurses, and technicians being tried in the Newborn case have been banned from their professions for 3 years. The maximum penalty was notified to 34 people.
REQUESTED PENALTIES
In the indictment, it is requested that the suspect Fırat Sarı be sentenced to a total of 177 years and 6 months to 582 years and 9 months in prison for 10 counts of negligent homicide, qualified fraud, establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime, and 11 counts of forgery in official documents. For Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir, a prison sentence of 180 years to 589 years and 9 months is requested for negligent homicide, 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.
In the indictment, similar prison sentences are foreseen for other suspects for similar crimes, and it is also requested that security measures specific to legal entities be applied since fraud was committed to the detriment of the hospitals and the companies to which the hospitals are affiliated, and that the hospitals and companies be closed and their assets confiscated.