Forty-seven medical personnel in Turkey are facing trial related to a disturbing case involving the alleged manipulation of hospital practices for profit, which reportedly led to the deaths of at least ten newborns. Prosecutors assert that this network, which included doctors, nurses, and ambulance staff, executed fraudulent transfers of babies to 19 private hospitals where they were purportedly kept for extended and often unnecessary treatments in neonatal intensive care units.
According to a substantial 1,400-page indictment, the defendants engaged in falsifying medical diagnoses to facilitate these transfers, benefiting from the social security payments associated with each day a baby occupied a hospital bed. While the accused maintain their innocence, claiming they operated in good faith and under proper medical protocols, sentiments of guilt pervade among protesting groups outside the courthouse in Istanbul. Demonstrators have loudly expressed their anger, chanting demands for justice and accountability from those they label “baby killers.”
Dr. Firat Sari, one of the accused medical professionals, testified that all actions were taken within the framework of established procedures, as reported by the Associated Press. The inquiry was triggered by an anonymous tip-off in March 2023, leading to the revocation of licenses for ten hospitals involved in the scandal.
As the trial progresses, the accused face severe charges of "homicide through negligence," fraud, and forgery, with potential lengthy prison sentences looming over them should they be found guilty. The case has ignited widespread anger and concern over the treatment of vulnerable infants within the healthcare system, prompting calls for enhanced regulatory measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
