Prosecutors are seeking more than 500 years in prison for members of a recently uncovered criminal organisation in Istanbul that recommended to parents of newborn babies for them to be placed in intensive care units in private centres, in order to obtain large sums of money from the cost overruns of inappropriate and medically unsupervised treatments, which in many cases led to the death of several babies or led to serious life-long side effects.
According to Turkish media reports in recent hours, the investigation into the scheme – which began last May – covers a total of 47 suspects, 22 of whom are in pre-trial detention, and has revealed that the chosen babies were sent to private hospitals they considered suitable for the organisation, indicating to the parents that they should undergo much more expensive medical treatment – up to four times more expensive, including intensive care – the profits from which were shared among the members of the organisation, many of whom were health workers or Istanbul 112 emergency call centre staff who collaborated in the scheme.
According to the prosecutor’s office, which refers to this plot as the ‘criminal organisation of the newborns’, this mafia operated in several private hospitals with the help of some doctors who were not part of the organisation, but who collaborated with it; but above all nurses, who in many cases pretended to be doctors to the parents of the children and who recommended them to refer their newborn babies to private centres where they could apply more expensive treatments pretending that thus they would save the newborns. These ‘fake doctors’ were also in charge of prescribing and applying treatments to the babies that were very expensive and of great benefit to the scheme, without obviously being authorised to do so.
At least a dozen newborn babies are believed to have died as a result of these practices due to infections and other problems (including overcrowding of neonatal intensive care units, just for profit), while many others suffered severe, lifelong aftereffects. Some of the profits were also made by selling illegally prescribed drugs that were taken out of the hospital.
Death threats to the prosecutor
Aware that their practices were damaging the health of the newborns, and that they could even cause their deaths, the members of the scheme tried to hide their responsibility, always putting their impunity and financial gain before the welfare of the babies. Members of the organisation even threatened to kill the prosecutor assigned to investigate the case and also his family, offering to pay a hitman $100,000 to kill him.
The indictment prepared by the Büyükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office points to at least 13 private hospitals in Istanbul where the organisation had taken control of neonatal intensive care units, and holds the companies that own these hospitals liable, calling for their closure and termination of business.
The prosecution is asking for up to 582 years in prison for the alleged leader of the criminal organisation, Dr. Fırat Sarı, and two other defendants. Eighteen other suspects including doctors, nurses and other health workers face sentences ranging from 10 to 437 years in prison on charges such as ‘deliberate homicide by omission’ for causing the deaths of several babies.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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