"The 'Newborn Gang' is in court! They threatened the prosecutor and his family."

24.10.2025 09:30

Thirteen defendants, including Mustafa Kemal Zengin, who threatened the public prosecutor Yavuz Engin conducting the "Newborn Gang" investigation, appeared before the judge for the first time yesterday. Yavuz Engin stated, "Aylin and Mustafa threatened me with my family. I had to send my family, my wife, and my child to a different place. We had to live separately for about three months." The hearing will continue today with the defendants' statements.

The hearing held at the Bakırköy 21st Heavy Penal Court, which started around 11:00 yesterday, was attended by detained defendants, some non-detained defendants, their lawyers, and the public prosecutor Yavuz Engin.

"I HAD TO LIVE AWAY FROM MY FAMILY FOR 3 MONTHS BECAUSE I WAS THREATENED"

Engin, who was heard as a complainant during the hearing, said, "Aylin and Mustafa threatened me with my family. So, I sent my family, my wife, and my child to a different place. We had to live apart for about 3 months. The investigating prosecutor told me that we needed to place a camera in the room to identify these individuals and that we needed to get statements from them. In fact, this case is one that should serve justice so that honest individuals performing their duties do not receive threats," he said.

THE HEARING WILL START TODAY AT 10:30

The hearing was postponed to today at 10:30 to continue with the defendants' statements and lawyers' declarations.

"THERE IS DEFINITELY NO ATTEMPT TO MURDER"

During the first hearing, detained defendant Mustafa Kemal Zengin stated, "I was born in Malatya; I am not a defendant in this case, but a victim. I have known Yavuz Çelik for 15-20 years; he is a well-liked person and my friend. I also know his brother. I know Aylin Arslantatar because she is a lawyer, through my friends. I also know Aylin's brother. I do not know the other defendants; I have had no contact with them. I was taken into custody by the gendarmerie at my home on October 11 last year and was arrested on October 14. My friend Yavuz Çelik told me that a friend of his had been arrested. He said he was looking for a good criminal lawyer. So, I called Aylin Arslantatar. She reviewed the case and told me, 'The prosecutor of this case is a very close friend of mine; it would not be right for me to take this case.' Later, while researching this incident, I coincidentally came across the newborn gang case. After that, when I was arrested, Yavuz Engin took us into custody and served us. I conducted the research through acquaintances from the hospital environment. I learned that a 6-month-old baby of a relative of Yavuz Çelik was transferred to another hospital with inappropriate procedures, where the death occurred. When I learned this, I was horrified. I thought that 3-5 doctors were renting intensive care units by colluding with hospitals and that they could not do this alone. However, I learned that the health workers, not the hospital management, were arrested. I told Aylin Arslantatar to stay away from the prosecutor, saying that there were foul smells coming from here. Arslantatar told me that complainant Yavuz Engin had sent her a message via social media, invited her to his office, and wanted to meet. At first, I did not want to go, but Arslantatar wanted to meet because she was a close friend of complainant Yavuz Engin and knew his mother. So, we went to Yavuz Engin together to share what I knew about this incident. When I arrived at the prosecutor's office, I started by saying, 'I did not come here to intervene in any incident.' I said I came at Aylin Arslantatar's insistence. While I was talking about my research related to the case, the topic came to Tugce Toptemel. The prosecutor asked me, 'What do you want regarding Tugce Toptemel?' I replied, 'Let her be tried, let her be acquitted.' There was absolutely no situation as it was served to the press. I also asked why the hospital owners were not arrested, and when I asked about the reports, he said, 'The reports have not arrived,' even though they should have. While we were asking for our permission from the prosecutor, he said, 'Sit a little longer.' There is definitely no attempt to murder; there is no situation regarding the private life of the prosecutor. I do not have a number for the prosecutor; how could I do such a thing? I have no request for information regarding anyone. After the meeting with Yavuz Engin, I told Aylin Arslantatar, 'This person is not your friend; be sure that he recorded our meeting.'

"THE STATE DOES NOT SET TRAPS"

During the defense, complainant prosecutor Yavuz Engin reacted to Mustafa Kemal Zengin by saying, "The state does not set traps."

"MANY OF MY STATEMENTS WERE MISUNDERSTOOD"

Defendant Zengin continued his defense, saying, "Gökhan Güler does not know Tugçe Toptemel; these claims have been made to inflate and fill the case. My phone was examined. I had no connection with Muhammet Emin Yıldırım and Mert Yıldırım; I had no connection with them whatsoever. Beydanur Danış and Halil Emre Yılmaz were in a relationship. Halil had assaulted Beydanur. Aylin Arslantatar was Beydanur's lawyer. There is no organization; how can there be an organization in a place where no one knows each other? I do not have acquaintances with most of the people here. Since there is no organization, I cannot be part of one. Tugçe Toptemel was released, and those whom the prosecutor did not request to be arrested fled. An assassination attempt was made to tarnish my reputation. I am a politician. Aylin Arslantatar introduced me to Yavuz Engin as an undersecretary, so I was referred to in this way to avoid letting her down. Many of my statements were misunderstood; my voice recordings were edited. My statement 'Your pen is broken' in the office was meant to indicate that Engin was an unreliable person due to the mistakes made in the case. Whoever Aylin has done good for has been met with evil in return. I may have fallen into a mistake with the example of the Pope's assassination, but I said it to emphasize that people can rebel against the same ideology. In my previous statements, when I watched the video, I said that my style was wrong," he said.

"A DISHONORABLE CRIMINAL CALLS ME THE LEADER OF AN ORGANIZATION"

During the hearing, the presiding judge stated that it was determined that Zengin had searched for Yavuz Engin on his social media account in the phone examination report. In response, defendant Zengin said, "I was curious after the incident and looked, but the accounts were private."

Zengin continued his defense, saying, "I received a 1-2 year prison sentence for fraud before this incident. If I were to ask for help with someone's case, I would first ask for my own case. Aylin Arslantatar and I are faxing each other from prison; I told her that we have nothing to do with this matter and that we did not hire a hitman. I do not know why Aylin sent me a fax regarding Muhammet Emin Orhan while I was in custody. I request that all the footage of the meetings in Yavuz Engin's office be reviewed. It was a very sincere meeting; I meant to say that the hospital owners should be pursued, not the nurses in this incident.

The organization's second invisible leader is the prosecutor. "I have been in solitary confinement for 1 year. The prosecutor set me up," he said.

Prosecutor Yavuz Engin stated, "You are being tried in detention, relax. The dishonorable criminal calls me the organization leader," he expressed. While detained defendant Mustafa Kemal Zengin raised his voice, the presiding judge warned the defendant.

"ZENGİN ASKED ME, 'IS THE BIGCEKMECE PROSECUTOR YOUR FRIEND?'"

After detained defendant Mustafa Kemal Zengin, the defense of detained defendant Aylin Arslantarar was presented. In her defense, Arslantatar stated, "I believe you will conclude that I am the victim of the incident in this case. It is bad to be a defendant in a case where I could only be a witness. I represented the lawyer of Mustafa Kemal Zengin's nephew. We were in close contact with the family. They were in a very difficult situation. Thus, we became friends. I have known Mustafa Kemal Zengin for 11 months. I am learning everything I hear here from you. We had many mutual friends with Yavuz Engin. We met on social media before his transfer to Istanbul. He must have sent the request himself. To prove how sincere we are, I present our conversations, which consist of 4 pages. I had taken on the case of a son from a wealthy family, and they organized a meal for me. Mustafa Kemal Zengin also attended the dinner. Zengin asked me, 'Is the Bigçekmece Prosecutor Yavuz Engin your friend?' When I said 'Yes,' he told me that Yavuz Engin was angry with the family of a detained defendant due to the detention, that they knew Yavuz was from Bolu, and that they said, 'We will scare his sister too.' Everyone who was at the dinner that day is a witness to what Mustafa Kemal Zengin said. I reacted to these words of Mustafa Kemal Zengin by throwing my fork and said, 'What do you mean? I am afraid not for myself but for my loved ones.' I said, 'I will tell Yavuz about this tomorrow.' We agreed on taking the person who told me this to meet Mustafa Kemal Zengin. I immediately called Zengin and said, 'Come and tell me what you know.' Zengin asked, 'Are you very upset, Ms. Aylin?' I replied, 'Yes, let's go and tell. Let's have tea and then go, it will be good for Yavuz,'" she stated. In the continuation of her defense, Arslantatar said, "I am not on one side. Neither Mustafa Kemal Zengin nor Yavuz Engin, both are my friends. A physical surveillance decision was made against me when there is no suspicion about me. Luckily, a surveillance decision was made. It has been determined that I have not met with anyone being tried as a defendant in the case. It is evident that a public prosecutor has given contradictory statements. Am I being tried in the Newborn case at the 22nd Heavy Penal Court? Am I a doctor, did I graduate from medicine? I graduated from three law schools, I was his friend. Why are you getting a search warrant for my home and office? I brought Mustafa Kemal Zengin myself. What right did you have? How can you take my picture in front of the Bigçekmece Courthouse? Who are you, Yavuz Engin? You said you would be a hero, that you would take down the gang," she expressed.

"I WAS UNAWARE OF THE CONTENT OF ZENGİN'S MEETING WITH THE PROSECUTOR"

During the hearing, Yavuz Çelik, the stepfather of Tuğçe Toptemel, one of the detained defendants in the Newborn gang case, stated, "I don't understand why I am here. This is an unlawful detention. It is clearly and explicitly written in the investigation file. We have repeatedly filed petitions of objection to the prosecutor's office. I am involved in meat business. I only asked Mustafa Kemal Zengin to look at my daughter's case and help us. Look at the situation I fell into while trying to defend my daughter. The issues between the other defendants in the case have nothing to do with me. If we had known that defendant Zengin threatened or would threaten the investigation prosecutor Yavuz Engin, we would have punished him before you. We are people who love our state and nation. I was unaware of the content of Mustafa Kemal Zengin's meeting with the prosecutor. I do not accept the allegations of attempted murder. The organization allegations are a very absurd accusation. It is clear and evident that it is not possible for us to establish an organization with people I have never met. The weapon mentioned in the investigation belongs to my employee. I am innocent," he stated.

"HE OFFERED ME $100,000 TO SHOOT HIS DOOR AND CAR"

In his defense, Muhammed Emin Orhan stated, "I met Mustafa Kemal Zengin in 2018 in a certain environment. The people next to him called him 'My esteemed undersecretary.' That’s why I thought he was an undersecretary. At that time, we exchanged numbers. But we never met. I only saw the statuses he shared on WhatsApp, and many of them were political figures. I wanted to enter military school. At that time, I called Zengin and asked for help. He told me, 'We can use you in intelligence, let’s make you an MIT agent.' And I worked as an MIT agent for a while and received cash. However, I later learned that this was a lie. One day, Kemal Zengin called me. He said, 'There is a courthouse employee whose license plate we know.' He asked me to shoot the door and car of that person. But he didn’t tell me who that person was and promised $100,000 in return, but said he wouldn’t tell me the name without accepting the job. I told him, 'I spend $100,000 in a week; I am not going to be anyone's pawn.' I have no connection with any organization. During this conversation, I was going to curse Zengin, but I held back because I thought he was an undersecretary and rejected the offer and hung up the phone," he said.

"AYLIN AND MUSTAFA THREATENED ME WITH MY FAMILY"

In his statement as a complainant during the hearing, Yavuz Engin said, "At that time, I was conducting the investigation of the case known to the public as the newborn gang. On August 30, 2024, I was called by Aylin Arslantatar. At that time, I was in my hometown Bolu. Aylin sent me a message on Instagram. The message said, 'We need to talk very important about your life,' and then she called me. She said, 'You have gone to Bolu,' and told me details about my family, and I was surprised because not everyone has access to this information. She even told me my brother's criminal record and mentioned that she knew where my father was working. She said to me, 'The hospital owners hold a grudge against you for the investigation you are conducting. You have unjustly arrested Tuğçe Toptemel.' When she mentioned this, I suspected what her purpose was. Was she trying to protect me or was she an intermediary? Additionally, she provided me with very important information; at that time, I wanted to bring my parents to Istanbul because they had never come here.

This is something we would talk about on the phone with my family. Aylin told me, 'You are going to bring your mother and father to Istanbul, don't bring them.' Where did this woman get this information? She told me, 'There is a hitman after you, be alert even while driving.' We can continue our duties without fear due to the nature of our work, but we must protect our families. So, I sent my family, my spouse, and my child to a different place. We had to live separately for about 3 months. When I returned to Istanbul, I immediately informed our Chief Prosecutor. I filed an official complaint. I asked the prosecutor preparing the indictment for 3-4 days to discuss Aylin. I wanted to talk to Aylin about this matter face to face because, as I said, I wasn't sure if she was being threatened or if she was an intermediary. I told her, 'A Turkish prosecutor does not sell their honor.' She replied, 'You are very impulsive.' And she made contradictory statements. I realized that Aylin did not want to protect me but wanted to pressure and threaten me to get me released. Later, Aylin was added to the case as a suspect."

"THIS IS A CASE WHERE JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED"

Engin, who reported that the conversations in the room were recorded live, stated that it became clear that Mustafa Kemal Zengin's words were not about getting someone released but about collapsing a case. Engin said, "Later, the investigating prosecutor told me that we needed to place a camera in the room to identify these individuals and that we needed to get information from them. In fact, this case is one that requires justice to be served so that honest individuals performing their duties do not receive threats."

THE HEARING HAS BEEN ADJOURNED

The hearing has been adjourned to today at 10:30 to continue with the defendants' statements and the lawyers' declarations.