22.01.2026 18:00
In Kahramanmaraş, a chilling detail has emerged regarding the case of 5-year-old Deniz Esin Bozoklar, who became physically and mentally disabled due to nurse violence when she was just 5 days old. It has been revealed that the hospital was aware of everything from the very beginning and concealed it from the family for 3 years, while the family learned the truth through an e-government message.
Sema Bozoklar gave birth to her daughter Deniz Esin at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University Health Application and Research Hospital on May 21, 2021. The baby was placed in an incubator in the newborn unit due to being born with low weight. On May 31, 2021, a nurse noticed that Deniz Esin Bozoklar was very still and detected swelling in her left leg while attempting to insert an intravenous line.
IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE BABY WAS SUBJECTED TO NURSE VIOLENCE
After the nurse informed the hospital management, the baby was examined immediately, and it was determined that her leg was broken. To identify the cause, security camera footage was reviewed retroactively. The investigation concluded that the baby was subjected to violence by nurse Hazel Dırık B. on May 26, 2021, when she was 5 days old.
THE VIOLENCE THE BABY SUFFERED WAS HIDDEN FROM THE FAMILY
While the hospital management transferred Deniz Esin to a private hospital, they did not inform Sema and Abdullah Bozoklar about the violence inflicted on their daughter by the nurse. After her treatment was completed and Deniz Esin was discharged from the private hospital, her parents were informed that their child had both physical disabilities and cerebral palsy and epilepsy. The Bozoklar couple returned home with their daughter, unaware of the violence she had experienced. The hospital management severed its relationship with nurse Hazel Dırık B. following an internal administrative investigation. The Kahramanmaraş Provincial Administrative Board also decided to prosecute Hazel Dırık B.
THEY LEARNED THE TRUTH 3 YEARS LATER THROUGH E-GOVERNMENT MESSAGE
Three years after the incident, in June 2024, a case was filed against nurse Hazel Dırık B. at the Kahramanmaraş 10th Criminal Court for 'intentional injury' with a request for up to 3 years in prison, and a message regarding the court date was sent to the Bozoklar couple via e-Government. The family, who could not make sense of the message, was shocked when they learned through their lawyer Sait Bolat's investigation that nurse Hazel Dırık B. had inflicted violence on their daughter Deniz Esin when she was 5 days old and that their daughter was disabled not by birth but as a result of violence.
14 MINUTES OF BLOOD DRAWING
While the trial was ongoing, security camera footage of the violence Hazel Dırık B. inflicted on Deniz Esin Bozoklar was revealed. The footage included in the case file showed that it took 14 minutes for Hazel Dırık B. to draw blood. Hazel Dırık B. took the baby out of the incubator and laid her on a stretcher; while trying to draw blood, she hit the crying Deniz Esin on the head and then squeezed her leg, pulling her towards herself, causing the previously active Bozoklar to suddenly become still. Later, it was observed that the baby, who started to move again, could not move her left leg. Additionally, the footage showed Hazel Dırık B. realizing the situation and checking the baby's leg.
'THIS IS CALLED BRUTALITY, IT IS TORTURE'
The family's lawyer, Sait Bolat, stated that the violence Deniz Esin Bozoklar suffered could not be considered a simple assault. He expressed that the footage clearly revealed why the baby became disabled, saying, "The footage has been included in our case file. It is truly unbearable to watch these images. The defendant attempts to draw blood from our 5-day-old baby for a full 14 minutes. While drawing blood, she repeatedly hits the baby's head, thus assaulting my client. As a result, we see from the footage that the intervention she made to my client's leg caused it to break while she continued to draw blood. She checks the leg afterward but leaves without informing any authority or doctor. It is impossible for us to evaluate this as a simple assault. This is brutality, torture, and cruelty for 14 minutes. From the very beginning, we believe this is not a simple injury crime. The crime committed in this concrete case is attempted murder. However, the nurse was not even detained for a single day. She has not gone through any detention or arrest process. She is still free and continues her life. However, our 5-day-old daughter will remain physically and mentally disabled for life, and she will suffer the pain of this for her entire life, along with her family," he said.