Faking it. posted by Richard Seymour

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) - A Marine major implicated in the death of an Iraqi prisoner testified at his court-martial Monday that he thought the prisoner was uncooperative and faking illness.

Maj. Clarke Paulus is accused of ordering a subordinate to drag Nagem Hatab, 52, by the neck from a holding cell at a Marine detention facility in Iraq on June 6, 2003. Hatab died shortly afterward; a military forensics examiner found he broke a bone in his neck and suffocated.

Military judge Col. Robert Chester barred all medical evidence from the trial because some of Hatab's body parts have been lost.

After the prosecution rested its case Friday, the judge reduced the most serious charge against Paulus from aggravated assault to assault and battery. Paulus had faced up to four and a half years in prison; he now faces a maximum of 18 months.

Paulus, of New Hope, Pa., testified Monday that Hatab had to be moved from a cell he shared with other prisoners because he had diarrhea. When guards tried to get the Iraqi to stand, he fell into barbed wire. Paulus said he then ordered a lance corporal to drag Hatab by the neck.

``It was the only area that didn't have feces on it,'' Paulus testified.

Paulus said he watched as Hatab was dragged about 20 feet and saw no signs of choking. He said if he had, he would have stopped it. He said a medic determined Hatab's vital signs were normal.

Paulus said Hatab showed no signs of distress - even when he grabbed onto barbed wire as he fell. He said he still believed Hatab was faking.

``How many people in your life do you know that can fake diarrhea?'' prosecuting lawyer Maj. Leon Francis asked during cross-examination. ``None that I know,'' Paulus replied.

Asked about the hold used to drag Hatab, Paulus also said: ``Did I think it could cause an injury? ... In some cases, yes; in this case, no.''

In September, a Marine sergeant, Gary Pittman, was acquitted of abusing Hatab but convicted of assaulting prisoners. He was sentenced to 60 days of hard labor and demoted to private. Charges against six others have been dismissed. [Emphasis added]