CHP statement on the 'Newborn Gang': 'Babies were left to die'

The indictment prepared regarding the "newborn gang," which generated illicit profits by referring babies to contracted hospitals in Istanbul and caused their deaths due to negligence, was presented to the public by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

While the details of the incident caused public outrage, the Ministry of Health stated in an announcement, "In the incident identified in May 2023 through the cooperation of the Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate and the Police Department, criminal proceedings were carried out and the matter was referred to judicial authorities."

BABIES WERE LEFT TO DIE FOR 1 YEAR

CHP Party Spokesperson Deniz Yücel reacted to this statement by the Ministry of Health. In his statement, Yücel argued that this scandal was being covered up and asserted that the responsibility lies with Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu. Making statements on his social media account, Yücel used the following expressions:

"According to the Ministry of Health's statement, the 'newborn gang,' which took healthy babies into incubators, slowly drained the life out of them day by day, and received money for every baby they killed, was identified exactly 1 year ago. Anyone who remained indifferent to this atrocity is just as guilty as those murderers. What kind of negligence is this that these immoral people, who have no share in humanity, were not caught for 1 year, and our babies were left to die for 1 year!"

GOVERNMENT TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY

Yücel emphasized that if such a scandal had occurred in another country, the government would have had to resign, and continued as follows:

"In any other country, the government would resign. Here, the politicians responsible are clinging to their seats with great shamelessness and audacity. From former Health Minister Fahrettin Koca to the Health Minister before him, Mehmet Müezzinoğlu, and the former Istanbul Provincial Health Director and current Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu, they all have negligence and a share in these infant deaths. You gave the tiny bodies wrapped in shrouds to mothers and fathers who were dying to hold their babies in their arms!"

CALL FOR RESIGNATION

Holding the Ministry of Health and Minister Kemal Memişoğlu responsible, Deniz Yücel reiterated his call for resignation:

"You took no precautions while knowing of the existence of such a gang. While the @saglikbakanligi, which you head, has great negligence and responsibility in the deaths of these babies, will you still continue to sit in that seat without shame, @drmemisoglu?"

According to the Ministry of Health's statement, the #Newborngang, which took healthy babies into incubators, slowly drained the life out of them day by day, and received money for every baby they killed, was identified exactly 1 year ago.

Anyone who remained indifferent to this atrocity is just as guilty as those murderers. This…

— Av. Deniz Yücel (@avdenizyucel) October 19, 2024

MINISTRY'S STATEMENT

In the statement made by the Ministry of Health, it was stated that the incident was identified in May 2023 through the cooperation of the Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate and the Police Department, that criminal proceedings were applied, and that the matter was referred to judicial authorities. However, this statement was not enough to calm public reactions and brought up allegations that the scandal was being covered up.