The second hearing of the Newborn Gang case is starting.

The trial of 47 defendants, including 26 who are detained, who are accused of unfairly profiting by transferring babies to hospitals they have agreements with and causing their deaths through negligent behavior, is starting its second session. In the hearing held in the conference hall of the Bakırköy 22nd High Criminal Court, some of the detained and non-detained defendants and the lawyers of the parties were present.

FROM THE INDICTMENT

In the indictment prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was stated that 47 defendants and 19 healthcare institutions were involved, and that 10 babies had lost their lives. The indictment revealed that the main aim of the criminal organization led by Fırat Sarı, managed by İlker Gönen and Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir, was to ensure the occupancy of the neonatal 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 stages of patients.

DISEASES REFLECTED DIFFERENTLY IN DOCUMENTS

The indictment stated that the gang committed document forgery by reflecting the patients' current conditions differently in the paperwork (e.g., representing intubated patients as non-intubated and vice versa, billing for unused medications as if they were used), and that they obtained financial gain by showing patients' conditions as more severe than they actually were, allowing for longer hospital stays and higher fees from SGK, as well as collecting extra fees from some patients' relatives under various pretexts.

MAJORITY OF DEFENDANTS ARE HEALTHCARE WORKERS

The indictment noted that most of the suspects were healthcare workers and that these workers also received a share of the profits. It was stated that due to the circumvention of the 112 transfer system, instead of transferring baby patients to hospitals that would provide appropriate healthcare services, they were admitted to hospitals chosen by the suspects that were deemed profitable for the organization, emphasizing that the goal was not to improve the health of the babies but to maximize financial gain. It was also recorded in the indictment that admitting babies to neonatal intensive care units, which are open to all kinds of infections, led to infections in some babies and even death in others.

THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR BABY DEATHS ALSO SOLD MEDICATIONS

The suspects were reported to have illegally sold medications such as currosurf and infasurf, which they improperly removed from the hospital, thus obtaining financial gain. It was noted that due to the transfer of operations in violation of the Private Hospitals Regulation under the guise of consultancy services, the Neonatal Criminal Organization led by Fırat Sarı attempted to provide services to numerous hospitals with a limited number of doctors, resulting in healthcare being provided directly by nurses and even nurse assistants, which consequently increased the number of baby deaths.

NURSES ACTING AS DOCTORS

The indictment revealed that nurses introduced themselves as doctors, and some members of the organization filled neonatal intensive care units beyond capacity, with nurses writing non-compliant and fictitious epicrisis reports. The digital materials examined during the investigation contained template patient values such as "bad patient values, good patient values," and it was noted that suspects categorized babies as good or bad based on their observations without conducting any actual tests or analyses regarding patients' blood gas, blood values, or infections, and wrote their reports as templates from a single source outside the hospital. As a result, there were uncertainties about which treatment should be applied to which baby, leading to irreparable consequences, including the death of babies.

CAUSES OF DEATH COVERED UP

According to the opinions received from a team of experts consisting of specialists in neonatology 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 oversight, 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, covering up the causes of death by doctors, and that due to the lack of sufficient energy and protein support, patients suffered from malnutrition because they did not receive lipids, multivitamins, phosphorus, and magnesium supplements in TPN fluids, and that despite the baby's heart dropping, adrenaline was not used, patients were kept in the hospital for long periods without being transferred to appropriate centers, negligence in the preparation and storage of medications, failure to provide protein and lipid support to patients, improper administration of necessary medications, and inadequate resuscitation support, as well as the preparation of fake patient files and the application of passive euthanasia, which resulted in the deprivation of babies' right to life.

THEY DID NOT PROVIDE SUFFICIENT NUTRITION TO BABIES JUST FOR MONEY

The indictment also mentioned that while some babies should have gained weight after being admitted to intensive care, they instead experienced significant weight loss, and that the Neonatal Criminal Organization and the hospital administrations assisting the organization did not 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.

INTENTIONAL MURDER PENALTIES ON THE AGENDA

In 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 10 counts of 'intentional murder through negligent behavior', 'qualified fraud', 'establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime', and 11 counts of 'forgery in official documents'. For defendant Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir, a prison sentence of 180 years to 589 years and 9 months was requested for 'intentional murder 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'. Similar prison sentences were requested for other defendants for related crimes.