Turkish Doctor Faces 583 Years in Prison for Fraud and Negligent Homicide
Dr. Firat Sari, the alleged ringleader of a fraud scheme in Istanbul, has been sentenced to up to 583 years in prison. He is one of 47 defendants accused of transferring newborn babies to private hospitals' neonatal units for prolonged and unnecessary treatments to receive social security payments.
Sari, who operated neonatal intensive care units in several private hospitals, claimed he was a quottrustedquot physician and denied any wrongdoing. He insisted that patients were referred to him because of their trust, not through bribes.
The case has sparked public outrage and calls for greater oversight of the healthcare system. Authorities have revoked the licenses of 10 out of the 19 implicated hospitals. Over 350 families have petitioned for investigations into the deaths of their children.
Sari is charged with establishing an organization to commit crimes, defrauding public institutions, forgery of official documents, and homicide by negligence. Despite his claims of proper care, the court found him guilty of negligent homicide in the deaths of 10 infants since January 2023, with an investigative report suggesting hundreds of deaths over a longer period.
The trial has also led to calls for the resignation of Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu, who was the Istanbul provincial health director at the time some of the deaths occurred.
