U.S. Marine goes on trial at Camp Pendleton in death of Iraqi pr

Nagem Sadoon Hatab, an Iraqi POW, died of strangulation last year at a holding
facility near Nasiriyah, the first death of an Iraqi prisoner to be acknowledged by the U.S. military.
Gary Pittman, a reserve sergeant from New York, is one of
three men charged in the June 2003 death. He could receive
more than three years in a military prison if found guilty
on two charges of dereliction of duty and four counts of
assault.
The accused U.S. Marines and their lawyers say Hatab died
of natural causes, perhaps an asthma attack.
Pittman's military trial was to begin Monday, with more
than 40 witnesses scheduled to testify at his court-martial, expected to last about three weeks.