The second hearing of the Newborn Gang has concluded! The trial will continue tomorrow at 09:30.

The trial of 47 defendants, including Fırat Sarı and İlker Gönen, who are accused of causing the deaths of newborns by transferring them to contracted private hospitals' neonatal units for unjust profit and engaging in faulty behaviors, has been postponed to tomorrow morning at 09:30.

The hearing, held in the 21st Heavy Criminal Court of Bakırköy Courthouse, is attended by victims and complainants, detained and non-detained defendants, and their lawyers. In the case where 19 private hospitals are mentioned in the indictment, a prison sentence of 17,000 years is sought for the defendants. Today's hearing began with the defense of detained defendant Hasan Basri Gök, who works as a nurse. After Gök, detained nurse Deniz Korkmaz presented her defense. Following the defense of detained ambulance driver Hüseyin Gündüz, the hearing was postponed to tomorrow morning at 09:30.

In today's hearing, after the defense of defendant Hasan Basri Gök was taken, the court panel had given a 45-minute break. After the break, the hearing continued with the defense of detained defendant Hüseyin Günerhan.

"WE WERE DISPOSING OF THE MEDICATIONS"

Defendant Günerhan, while defending himself, stated that he did not accept the statement he gave to the prosecutor's office, saying, "I reject the accusations against me and the possibility of such an organization existing. We are all people who work in different hospitals and do not know each other. I am a nurse. I have worked in every department you can think of in a hospital. In 2020, I worked at Reyap Hospital, then at Güney Hospital, and finally in home health services. When I worked with Fırat Sarı, I worked as a staff member in the intensive care units of hospitals in need. The conditions of all the hospitals I worked in were quite good, and the needs of the children were met. We were disposing of the medications, and when we disposed of the medications, the usage rates increased. We would inform the doctor about these discarded medications, and the doctor would sign off on them. Doğukan called me at night and said that the condition of a foreign national baby patient was bad. I went to the hospital, and the baby died in the morning. The family of baby Kaya had written a thank-you letter to the hospital," he said.

"I DID NOT SERVE ANYONE"

Günerhan, who stated that he left the institution he was affiliated with in 2022, said, "I am not a member of any organization. I was accused of murder due to my statement. I gave a statement to the prosecutor's office regarding the deceased babies. They accused me of baby murder, and when I told this to the prosecutor, he said, 'Sorry.' I did not commit fraud in any case. I applied what the situation was. If fraud was committed in my name with my signature, let it be brought, proven, and compared with my signature. Hasan Basri Gök never even passed in front of the Güney Hospital where I worked. How can people speak as if they know so much? I was looking for a job after leaving the hospital. Fırat Sarı told me that I could work at Güney Hospital. While Fırat Sarı was explaining the system in the hospital to me, he said that the transfer process of a patient could take three to four hours, that there could be many doctors in a hospital, and that doctors could look everywhere. If there is no doctor in the hospital, the responsible person is not the hospital but the chief physician. After Fırat Sarı made an agreement with the hospital I worked at, he rarely visited the hospital. During my time there, I was not a member of any organization, did not serve anyone, and did not kill anyone," he stated.

"I GAVE THE MONEY I RECEIVED TO FIRAT SARI"

The public prosecutor asked the defendant what he did with the money he received. The defendant replied, "I gave it to Fırat Sarı. He distributed it to the employees as overtime pay; this was also included in the money transfer. This money was also given to the nurses coming from outside." The defendant stated, "There were pediatricians in the outpatient clinic, but they did not intervene in emergencies," he said. The trial of the defendants continues.

THE HEARING WILL CONTINUE TOMORROW

The hearing of the case in which the Newborn Gang is being tried has been postponed to tomorrow at 09:30.

FIRST DEFENSE FROM FIRAT SARI'S NURSE

In today's hearing, the highlights from the statements of the defendants who made their defenses were as follows. During the identity determination yesterday, the gang leader Fırat Sarı stated that he was single and that his monthly income was approximately 400,000 lira. He was also present in the courtroom on the second day. Sarı's arrival in a denim jacket drew attention. The first person to come to the podium on the second day was Hasan Basri Gök, Fırat Sarı's nurse. Gök, who made his defense with his hands tied behind his back, answered the questions of the Presiding Judge. After a while, when the Presiding Judge asked, 'Why are your hands behind your back, is there a handcuff?' the defendant corrected his posture.

Presiding Judge: Can you explain how to change the epicrisis?

Defendant: There was a template system. Hospital officials would input the values of the babies, and we would enter those values.

Presiding Judge: Normal values?

Defendant: The values sent by the responsible person on the other side.

Presiding Judge: Who?

Defendant: For example, a person in Avcılar.

Presiding Judge: Where did you work?

Defendant: I worked at Reyap Hospital.

Presiding Judge: As what?

Defendant: I was Fırat Sarı's nurse. For the last 6 months, I wrote the epicrisis reports and also drove him.

Presiding Judge: There is a business issue, what is it?

Defendant: Fırat Sarı was sending his personnel to the business.

Presiding Judge: Which hospitals?

Defendant: Avcılar, Doğa, Birinci, Silivri Kolon, Duygu, Bağcılar Şafak, GOP Şafak, TRG Hospital.

"NO ONE WAS DOING ANYTHING FOR FREE"

Presiding Judge: Who was making money from the baby transfers?

Defendant: I did not see anything with my own eyes, but no one was doing anything for free.

"THEY WERE KEEPING PATIENTS LONGER THAN NORMAL TO MAKE MONEY FROM SGK"

Presiding Judge: On page 146, regarding the inspection, were the patient admissions long?

Defendant: Generally, they were long.

Presiding Judge: Were they keeping them longer than normal?

Defendant: Yes, they were keeping them longer than normal.

Presiding Judge: Why?

Defendant: To get money from SGK.

"HE WAS EARNING 5 THOUSAND LIRA FROM OUT-OF-PROVINCE TRANSFERS"

Presiding Judge: What do you know about baby transfers?

Defendant: Baby transfers were done by Fırat Sarı, İlker Gönen, and Mert Özdemir.

Presiding Judge: How did they receive them?

Defendant: Fırat Sarı had doctors he knew; he would take the babies from them.

Presiding Judge: Why?

Defendant: To make money.

Presiding Judge: How was this done without informing 112?

Defendant: It was done through the doctors.

Presiding Judge: Were they making money?

Defendant: They were making money, but I did not see anything with my own eyes. Serdar was earning 5 thousand lira from out-of-province transfers. İlker and Fırat were already the managers.

Presiding Judge: You have a conversation with Mehtap; they came for inspection.

Defendant: We acted under the instructions of Fırat Sarı during the inspections. There were gases and medications that were shown to be used through the patient, and it was related to those.

Presiding Judge: Your statement mentions that you asked for money from the family of the Serdarova baby.

Defendant: Fırat Sarı called; there was a transfer, but the family had no money. Fırat Sarı took his commission fee. A total of about 40 thousand lira was collected. We paid the hospital, and Fırat took the rest. He also made an additional payment to us.

Presiding Judge: What was the purpose?

Defendant: The purpose was to get more money from SGK.

PRESIDING JUDGE: YOU TOLD THEM TO KILL THE BABY

The Presiding Judge asked Hasan Basri Gök about the dialogue between him and Nurse Mehtap regarding "Kill the baby":

Presiding Judge: You have a conversation with Nurse Mehtap about killing the baby.

Defendant: It's an ugly sentence. I expressed my opinion.

Presiding Judge: Is that how you were doing it?

Defendant: There was a situation that caused the baby's heart to stop and come back constantly, that's why.

Presiding Judge: Is that what should normally be done? You told Mehtap, "Kill the baby."

Defendant: (Response not specified.)

"WE EARNED 40 THOUSAND LIRA FROM DRUG SALES"

Continuation of Hasan Basri Gök's interrogation;

Presiding Judge: You have a conversation with Damla regarding inspections. You say that unprovoked raids and inspections are being conducted.

Defendant: In our conversation about inspections, we were talking about inspections related to drugs. The business I mentioned refers to the hospitals operated by Fırat Sarı. Normally, the doctors were supposed to write the epicrisis reports, but we were writing them.

Presiding Judge: In the inspections, you said, "Thank God they didn't check the medicine, these are goods."

Defendant: It was illegal for those drugs to be there, but the ones coming from the Health Directorate didn't see them because they didn't check the cabinets. It was a conversation about that.

Presiding Judge: You said, "Why did this ex-baby stay with me?"

Defendant: They asked me in the first tapes. Fırat Sarı told me. In recent times, I was writing the reports and sending them to the hospital. We were organizing the reports according to the incoming notes.

Presiding Judge: "You requested an epicrisis report suitable for 20 admissions."

Defendant: I don't remember.

Presiding Judge: "If a daily epicrisis report is written, the turnover decreases, the price decreases," you said.

Defendant: Fırat Sarı was paying low fees. Fırat Sarı was paying money to all the responsible parties. Everything had a cost; helping the doctor, writing the epicrisis report, and such tasks.

Presiding Judge: You say, "Forget the steps, it doesn't matter."

Defendant: The step hospitals were not correct. Money was being received from SGK accordingly. We were changing the upcoming steps. We were also selling the drugs in the hospital together with Doğukan. We earned 40 thousand lira from drug sales.

Presiding Judge: Do you have drugs that you received from the nurses?

Defendant: Yes, we did. I received them with the knowledge of Fırat Sarı. Once, because there was an inspection, they gave 24 boxes of drugs. The hospital was aware when I received the drugs. This report is already seen by the hospital's chief physician and owner. These are not drugs that would go unnoticed; when they drop from the system, everyone is informed. As a result, the hospital's turnover was suddenly increasing.

MINISTRY LAWYER OBJECTS TO THE QUESTION "DOES 112 HAVE A HAND IN THIS?"

During the court session, the defendant Hasan Basri Gök was asked the question, "Does 112 have a hand in this?" regarding the transfers. The lawyer of the Ministry of Health objected to the question. The court panel accepted the objection, and the question was not asked.

The lawyers of Gök requested his release, stating, "He has contributed to the case reaching this stage by making confessions. Therefore, we request that he be tried without detention."

"THOSE WORDS ARE A QUOTE FROM WOLVES VALLEY"

Presiding Judge: You said, "Stealing from the state is more honorable than stealing from the people." Why did you say that?

Deniz Korkmaz: Yes, I said it. There is a series called "Wolves Valley," a famous quote. If you look, you will see.

"FIRAT SARI TAKES A 40% PROFIT"

Presiding Judge: You have given a statement to the prosecutor's office.

Deniz Korkmaz: I told everything I know.

Presiding Judge: One minute, are your statements true?

Deniz Korkmaz: I told everything I heard, saw, and knew.

Presiding Judge: You said that in the system established by Fırat Sarı, he takes a 40% profit.

Deniz Korkmaz: Yes, that is correct.