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Turkey Newborn Deaths
Activists some holding banners with Turkish writing that read, " Children should not be killed , so they can eat candies", " I couldn't play with my toys because I was killed" and " If I had not been killed this toy would have been my sleeping friend " during a protest outside the courthouse where dozens of Turkish healthcare workers including doctors and nurses go on trial for fraud and causing the deaths of 10 infants, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday Nov, 18, 2024.(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Doctor at the heart of Turkey's newborn baby deaths case says he was a 'trusted' physician

The Turkish doctor at the center of an alleged fraud scheme that led to the deaths of 10 babies says he was a “trusted” physician

By ANDREW WILKS
Published - Nov 23, 2024, 07:27 AM ET
Last Updated - Dec 16, 2024, 05:14 PM EST

ISTANBUL (AP) — The Turkish doctor at the center of an alleged fraud scheme that led to the deaths of 10 babies told an Istanbul court Saturday that he was a “trusted” physician.

Dr. Firat Sari is one of 47 people on trial accused of transferring newborn babies to neonatal units of private hospitals, where they were allegedly kept for prolonged and sometimes unnecessary treatments in order to receive social security payments.

“Patients were referred to me because people trusted me. We did not accept patients by bribing anyone from 112,” Sari said, referring to Turkey’s emergency medical phone line.

Sari, said to be the plot’s ringleader, operated the neonatal intensive care units of several private hospitals in Istanbul. He is facing a sentence of up to 583 years in prison in a case where doctors, nurses, hospital managers and other health staff are accused of putting financial gain before newborns’ wellbeing.

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