New development in the newborn case: Another complaint filed

Journalist Emrullah Erdinç shared a new development regarding the Newborn Gang with the public.

He announced that the family of baby Havanur Karakoç, who passed away in October 2023, decided to change their stance and submitted a petition to the Yalova Chief Public Prosecutor's Office after the news reports, despite having stated in their previous testimonies that they did not wish to file a complaint.

The family of baby Havanur, who remained in intensive care for approximately 2 months at Bağcılar Medilife Hospital, included the following statement in their petition:

“I am a complainant and plaintiff if the aforementioned gang members and the hospital bear any responsibility regarding the death of our daughter.”

It was learned that the family, who had stated they were not complainants in their testimonies in June 2025, changed their decision in light of the news reports and new information reflected in the public domain.

The death of baby Havanur and the Newborn Gang allegations continue to hold a significant place in the trial process.

WHAT HAPPENED?

The investigation, initiated upon a report received by the Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate via CİMER on March 27, 2023, was conducted by the Organized Crime and Terror Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Büyükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

In the indictment prepared by the prosecutor's office regarding the deaths of at least 12 babies, 19 hospitals and healthcare service companies were included as "financially liable," and 47 individuals, 22 of whom are under arrest, were named as "suspects."

The case was opened with an indictment prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in line with the 725-page indictment. A total of 17,000 years of imprisonment is being sought for the suspects.

Known to the public as the Newborn Gang, the group used gang-member hospital and 112 emergency staff to transfer newborn babies to intensive care units despite them being healthy, in order to collect 8,000 TL per day from the Social Security Institution (SGK).

Investigations revealed that as the duration of the newborns' stay in intensive care was extended, gang members also extorted money from their families under the guise of treatment and supply costs.

Turkey learned about the Newborn Gang and the 'Baby Murders' committed by the hospitals partnering with them through the reporting of journalist Emrullah Erdinç. The Newborn Gang became a major public issue after the prosecutor conducting the investigation, Yavuz Engin, was threatened in his office by gang member Mustafa Kemal Zengin.

It was determined that the gang was led by Dr. Fırat Sarı, who had previously served time in prison for membership in the PKK terrorist organization.

The indictment prepared by the police stated that Sarı, acting with organization manager Dr. İlker Gönen, had babies transferred to hospitals through irregular methods regardless of whether the hospitals were suitable, and that they generated high amounts of income from the SGK by ensuring long-term hospitalization of the infant patients.

The organization's structure is as follows:

The crime organization chart in the indictment included the names of the organization's ringleader, managers, and members.

According to the chart, the indictment stated that Fırat Sarı led the criminal organization, while İlker Gönen and Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir were managers; it was reported that the members of the organization were Renas Kılıç, Serdar Yüksel, Fehmi Alperen, Hakan Doğukan Taşçı, Hasan Basri Gök, Deniz Korkmaz, Enes Kaan Bölükbaşı, Hüseyin Günerhan, Sümeyye Nur Arslan, Cansu Akyıldırım, and Mehtap Sayar.