Soldier says he saw detainee beaten (with baseball bat)

Soldier says he saw detainee beaten
By LARRY O'DELL, Associated Press Writer

PETERSBURG, Va. - A soldier testified Monday that he saw a sergeant beat an Iraqi detainee with a baseball bat, then himself assaulted another detainee when goaded by the sergeant.

Spc. Angel M. Bonilla was the first witness at Sgt. 1st Class Timothy L. Drake's court-martial for the alleged beating and an attempted cover-up. The military judge dismissed one of the most serious charges against Drake earlier in the day.

Drake, 40, is accused of striking the detainee in December 2003 at Forward Operating Base Mercury near the Iraqi town of Fallujah. He allegedly hit the detainee in the abdomen, hip and head with a baseball bat. He also is accused of kicking a detainee in the back.

Bonilla said that after he saw Drake strike the detainee with the aluminum bat, Drake told him, "B, come get a piece of this."

Bonilla said he grabbed a bat from outside the tent and struck a second detainee. He said he regretted it afterward. Asked by the prosecutor, Cpl. Jamal Rhinehardt, why he did it, Bonilla said, "I felt pressured to do it, sir."