A criminal organization, ‘The Newborn Gang’ as they call themselves, turned intensive care units for newborn babies in Istanbul into trading houses. They have caused at least 10 babies to die. They were first reported anonymously on March 27, 2023 to the Presidential Communication Center(CIMER).
The 'Newborn Gang' investigation shook Türkiye in the last few days. The gang includes 47 defendants, 22 of whom were arrested. According to the Ministry of Health and SGK contracts with many private hospitals, intensive care units for newborns were paid 8,000 TL per day to reduce infant mortality after birth. It was revealed that the organization orchestrated 19 private hospitals and many “112 Emergency” personnel in order to profit from the so-called treatment practice within the scope of “intensive care treatment”, which is paid for by the state on a daily basis.
One of the leaders of the organization who gained income by transporting newborn babies to contracted hospitals and causing them to die by neglecting their care, Fırat Sarı, is known for being in prison for 5 years due to being a member of PKK (terrorist organization) during his medical school years. He works at the Private Reyap Hospital in Istanbul and is also the owner of Medisense Health Services.
In a testimony, a nurse named Hasan Basri Gök stated that he met the gang leader Fırat Sarı while he was working at Reyap Hospital and said the following: “He was operating 12 different intensive care units throughout Istanbul. I was one of the nurses working in his facilities. I worked with him for about 3-4 years. Although I was a nurse, I was working as a driver for him because he paid me a nurse's salary. I was with him most of the time when we worked together. Fırat Sarı established a company called GMZ in the name of nurse Deniz Korkmaz and issued fake invoices. He told me that he had invoiced GMZ and that he would pay these invoices later. He was also not practicing medicine properly. He was not caring enough for the hospitals.”
The organization was accused for the following categories of crimes: establishing an organization to commit a crime, killing people on purpose through neglect, qualified fraud, forgery of official documents and bribery. Within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Anti-Financial Crimes Branch Directorate in Istanbul, it was revealed that the newborn intensive care units of private hospitals in Istanbul were operated improperly, and unfair profits were obtained from the Social Security Institution (SGK) through bribery and forgery of documents.
People whose children were harmed by the organization spoke up. Ayşe K., who gave birth at the Private Reyap Hospital in Esenyurt, a hospital named in the newborn gang investigation, claimed that her son Eymen Ali K., now 4 years old, has a 90 percent disability due to the negligence of hospital staff. Stating that there was always a doubt in her mind, mother Ayşe K. said, “This doubt in me did not end. Now I am sure that it is no longer a doubt. They ruined Eymen's life because of neglect.”
One of the families victimized by the criminal organization was found in Kocaeli. The mother gave birth to four babies last year and three of them were dead. The Okutucu family found out that their child who is alive was blind due to the gang’s negligence from the indictment prepared about the Newborn Gang.
The licenses of at least 10 hospitals named in the investigation were revoked. Among the hospitals whose licenses were revoked is Private Avcılar Hospital, the hospital of former health minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu.
The 1,399-page indictment prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office lists 197 criminal acts and includes numerous phone calls to conceal infant deaths among the evidence. The indictment names 10 babies as deceased. In the first denunciation application made to CIMER, it was claimed that the activities of the gang “caused the deaths of hundreds of babies”.
For the past month, Türkiye has been shaken by the news of femicides and children deaths. With every passing week, a new death or missing person is being announced. This news of the criminal organization increased Türkiye’s grief even more and reinforced the protests against child murders. Turkish citizens are extremely tired of the mourning news and have risen up to take all necessary measures to end these murders. Türkiye is looking forward to the days that child and woman murders are entirely inhibited and criminals who have caused them to happen are getting fair and deterrent punishment.
Edited By: Ömer Gökce, Oya Yamaç