Nagem Hatab was an Iraqi who died on June 3, 2003, while in US custody. Hatab is said to have been a

Ba'ath party The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...

member.

Arrest

Hatab was arrested in a raja bazaar where he was trying to sell a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

issue

M16 rifle The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States Armed Forces, United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm NATO, 5.56×45mm automatic ...

. The serial number of this rifle showed it was one issued to a member of the unit that included captured Army

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Jessica Lynch Jessica Dawn Lynch (born April 26, 1983) is an American teacher, actress, and former United States Army soldier who served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as a private first class. On March 23, 2003, she was serving as a unit supply specialist ...

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

who were guarding the prisoners at Camp Whitehorse believed that his possession of the rifle implicated Hatab in Lynch's capture.

Death in custody

Hatab was in custody for only a few days. Hatab was interrogated by a military intelligence officer before he was killed. He was also looked at by a medic who stated that Hatab appeared to have suffered a mild heart attack. The medic also suggested Hatab might be faking it. In the days before he died Hatab was observed being unsteady on his feet. He was observed spontaneously falling over and landing on a bale of razor wire. He appeared dazed. He had completely lost control of his bowels, and his clothes were covered in excrement.

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Clarke Paulus ordered

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

Christian Hernandez to haul Hatab over to where he could be hosed off. He was then to strip Hatab naked, burn his clothes, and tie him to a stake, and leave him outside, so he wouldn't foul the clothes of other prisoners. Hatab was left naked out in the desert, limp and incapacitated in the blazing sun. At midnight it was noticed Hatab was dead.

Investigations

post-mortem An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death ...

was conducted on Hatab. It determined that he died from a broken

hyoid bone The hyoid-bone (lingual-bone or tongue-bone) () is a horseshoe-shaped bone situated in the anterior midline of the neck between the chin and the thyroid-cartilage. At rest, it lies between the base of the mandible and the third cervical verte ...

, a very small bone, near the

larynx The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ (anatomy), organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal ...

. Hernandez had been ordered to haul Hatab by his neck, when he dragged him to where he could be hosed off.

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

James Mattis James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is an American military officer who served as the 26th United States secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. A retired Marine Corps four-star general, he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War, th ...

dropped all charges against Hernandez. Initially eight Marines were under investigation for their roles in Hatab's death. But Pittman and Paulus were the only two to be court martialed. The post-mortem had found a large bruise that was probably caused by Pittman's kick. Pittman was cleared of assault, but was convicted of dereliction of duty and abuse of prisoners. He was reduced of rank to private and was sentenced to 60 days of hard labor. Samples of Hatab's bodily fluids were packed in ice to be sent to Germany for analysis, as part of the autopsy. However, the container was left on the tarmac at Tallil Air Base in Iraq and exploded in the hot sun.

References

External links

Iraqi detainee's death hangs over Marine unit
Signonsandiego, May 30, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatab, Nagem Iraq War crimes by the United States Extrajudicial prisoners killed while in United States custody Iraqi torture victims Iraqi people who died in prison custody Deaths by beating Year of death missing Place of birth missing Place of death missing Torture in the Iraq War