According to Reuters, the scandal concerns nine private clinics and a total of 19 institutions are allegedly responsible. The Turkish Ministry of Health closed them all. During the investigation, the court sent 22 of the 47 suspects to custody.
According to the accusations, two of them worked on the emergency line and there they selected newborns suitable for their “business”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and newly appointed Minister of Health Kemal Memisoglu
They sent them to their accomplices in intensive care units in hospitals. They then subjected newborns to inappropriate treatment, often on the basis of fictitious diagnoses. Medicines for children, even for those who really needed them, were then sold. According to Reuters, some newborns died from infections they contracted in intensive care units.
The goal of the gang was “financial gain” and not improving the health of patients, the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office, which is in charge of the case, said in the indictment. The suspects, who include two doctors and 11 nurses, deny the accusations. He claims that the newborns were not sent to certain hospitals and that they received the proper necessary care.
In addition to creating a criminal group, the prosecutor’s office accuses the suspect of embezzlement, forgery of official documents and negligent homicide. The indictment has 1399 pages. According to Reuters, some of the accused face up to 589 years in prison.
The Turkish opposition People’s Republican Party (CHP) is requesting a parliamentary investigation into the case. She also called for the resignation of Turkish Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu, appointed in July, who, in an attempt to appease the opposition, promised hospital inspections “stricter than ever before”.