Newborn gang: The tip of the iceberg for potential problems in Turkey’s health system
İSTANBUL — My client “received his son’s body in a biscuit box, and then he carried it out.”
This is how a lawyer described the death of “Kaya Bebek”, or Baby Kaya, and the experience of his grieving parents during the ongoing trial of the so-called “newborn gang”, a group at the center of a major health care scandal in Turkey.
After his mother fell ill in November last year, Baby Kaya was born via caesarean section and placed in intensive care. He passed away three days later, on November 16, 2023.
Baby Kaya is alleged to be one of the victims of the newborn gang, and his parents are among the many families that have sought investigations into the deaths of their children.
Turkish prosecutors are pursuing over 500 years in prison for the group’s leaders, who are charged with causing multiple infant deaths. The group allegedly placed newborns in intensive care units and administered inappropriate health care for financial gain.
A 1399-page indictment against 47 suspects, primarily doctors and nurses, claims infants were transferred to select hospitals in İstanbul with the collaboration of dispatchers at “112”, the central emergency ambulance service, in a scheme to exploit the country’s social security system.
The newborn gang trial began on Nov. 18, and during the first week of hearings, 22 defendants in pretrial detention presented their defenses, admitting to some irregularities but denying charges of deliberate killings.
According to the indictment, 12 infants lost their lives due to the gang's actions but experts warn the number might reflect only a fraction of the victims. Hundreds of new complaints have been filed since news of the scandal broke, suggesting the current case might be the tip of the iceberg for corruption in Turkey’s privatized public health system.
Dr. Fırat Sarı, who is accused of leading the newborn gang, admitted in his defense statement to the court last week that he paid emergency room staff to funnel more patients into intensive care.
"İstanbul is a business hub," Sarı said. "This system wasn’t created by me — it has existed for a long time."
Dr. Alpay Azap, president of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), told Turkey recap the scandal did not stem from a loophole, but from the system itself, which he said is designed to enable such schemes.
"What happened is this: Certain 112 employees were directing critically ill newborns to specific hospitals in exchange for payment," Azap said in an attempt to simplify the scandal.
"These hospitals had subcontracted their neonatal care services to the same private company,” he continued. “In essence, 112 was funneling babies into a business pipeline. This company, to maximize profits from the Social Security Institution [SGK] and families, provided unnecessary and even harmful treatments."
According to Azap, one reason health care professionals could so easily exploit the system is that more than half of the newborn intensive care units in Turkey are in private hospitals. This means the country’s social security system relies more heavily on private providers for neonatal care than public ones.
To change such dynamics and create more accountability in the healthcare system, Azap emphasized the need for strict inspections backed by deterrent penalties.
"Unfortunately, the current penalties are far from effective,” he complained. “SGK used to suspend agreements with such hospitals, but now, it only imposes fines. But why would a hospital that profits far more than the fine bother reforming itself?"
When asked about the potential that similar gangs might conduct comparable schemes elsewhere in the country, Azap replied:
"The system is conducive to new gangs. No matter how strict the inspections are, eliminating them entirely is impossible. The simplest and most effective solution would be for SGK to cease outsourcing services to private institutions."
Lawyer Kadriye Sakarya, who has been following the case closely, told Turkey recap that since the scandal became public, over 400 complaints have been filed with prosecutors nationwide and investigations have begun.
"This case involves babies being deliberately pushed to their deaths … We've never seen such brutality before — it’s utterly devastating," she said.
CHP İstanbul MP Turan Taşkın Özer, a member of the parliamentary commission investigating the issue, told Turkey recap that the case corroborates similar schemes that have been reported in other cities across Turkey.
"A letter sent to the court alleges that the suspects were involved in equivalent crimes with contacts in other provinces," Özer told Turkey recap, adding that the matter has been referred to prosecutors.
Özer said he believes the scope of the trial should be widened to include all those who bear responsibility.
"Those who failed to enforce proper inspections, hospital administrators and board members complicit in these irregularities should also face justice,” the MP said. “This is a large-scale, interconnected system — a system where infants die, families are devastated, and public funds are exploited. The culprits cannot be limited to just 47 individuals."
Asserting that this scandal reflects the broader issue of corruption, Dr. Azap said:
"This tragedy is the result of a system that channels public resources into the hands of a few private entities under state patronage. Privatization in healthcare brings decay and death. Before the privatization wave in 2008, even the most malicious individuals couldn’t have formed such a gang."
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