Tension between gendarmerie and lawyers in the Newborn Gang trial! 'You cannot give us orders'

The third hearing of the baby-killer Newborn Gang trial is underway in Istanbul, where 46 defendants, 25 of whom are in custody, are being tried for allegedly referring emergency newborn patients to private hospitals they had pre-arranged agreements with, causing their deaths and generating illicit profits.

The hearing, held in the courthouse conference hall by the Bakırköy 22nd High Criminal Court, was attended by 25 detained defendants, including doctor Fırat Sarı, who is alleged to be the leader of the criminal organization, as well as some non-detained defendants, plaintiffs, and lawyers.

Tight security measures were taken by police teams in the courtroom, which was followed by numerous members of the press.

TENSION BETWEEN GENDARMERIE AND LAWYERS

According to Müzeyyen Yüce from ArtıGerçek, tension rose between the gendarmerie and lawyers during the roll call of the defendants when a female lawyer attempted to give water to one of the defendants. The gendarmerie intervened, stating that it was forbidden to provide food and drinks to the defendants from the outside.

However, the lawyers reacted to this situation, responding by saying, “You cannot give us orders.” The brief verbal argument ended with the intervention of the presiding judge. The judge requested that the gendarmerie personnel leave the courtroom to calm the environment. The hearing continues with the defense statements of the defendants.

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

In the 1,399-page indictment prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it is stated that the criminal organization led by defendant doctor Fırat Sarı was managed and directed by defendant doctor İlker Gönen and 112 Emergency Call Center ambulance driver Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir.

The indictment notes that the main purpose of the criminal organization was to bypass the 112 referral system for the neonatal intensive care units they had taken over, ensure their occupancy, manipulate the patients' severity levels, and receive maximum payments from the Social Security Institution (SGK).

The indictment states that the defendants portrayed the condition of the baby patients as more severe than it actually was and ensured they were hospitalized for longer than necessary, thereby collecting high fees from the SGK and charging some patients' families extra money.

The indictment reports that instead of referring baby patients to hospitals where they would receive appropriate healthcare, they were hospitalized in hospitals chosen by the suspects that appeared profitable for the organization, and that most of the profit was shared with the organization member defendants who were healthcare workers.

The indictment includes that the primary goal was to obtain the maximum financial gain rather than improving the health status of the babies.

WHO FACES WHAT SENTENCE?

In the indictment, for defendants Fırat Sarı and İlker Gönen, prison sentences ranging from 177 years and 6 months to 582 years and 9 months are requested for each, to be applied 10 times for the crime of "causing death by negligent conduct" due to the death of 10 babies, as well as for "qualified fraud," "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime," and 11 times for "forgery of official documents."

For defendant Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir, a prison sentence ranging from 180 years to 589 years and 9 months is requested for the crimes of "causing death by negligent conduct," "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 of official documents." Prison sentences for similar crimes are also foreseen for 44 other defendants, 8 of whom are women.

The indictment also requests that security measures specific to legal entities be applied to the responsible hospitals and companies that obtained financial gain by committing the crime of "fraud," and that these be shut down and their assets confiscated.

Within the scope of the investigation, the licenses of 9 hospitals in Istanbul and 1 in Tekirdağ Çorlu were revoked, and the babies and patients receiving treatment in these hospitals were transferred to public hospitals by ambulance.

On the other hand, those who threatened Büyükçekmece Public Prosecutor Yavuz Engin, who is conducting the investigation into the newborn gang, with death in his office were also arrested.

4 NON-DETAINED DEFENDANTS ARRESTED

In line with the court board's decision in the first hearing, Mehmet Gürül, one of the doctors at TRG Hospitalist Hospital, the same hospital's Administrative Manager Murat Mantuş, doctor Şeyhmus Çelik, and the responsible manager of Esenler Güney Hospital, doctor Ali Dirik, who were being tried without detention, were arrested.

Efforts to apprehend the owner of Birinci International Hospital, Ali Aksu, nurse Serenay Şenkalaycı, and nurse Ceren Hatice Kırım, for whom arrest warrants were issued but who are currently fugitives, are ongoing.