Soldier Pleads Not Guilty

WIESBADEN, Germany —  A U.S. Army tank commander charged with shooting a wounded Iraqi man pleaded not guilty Monday on the first day of his court-martial.

Capt. Rogelio Maynulet, 30, stared at the screen as prosecutors played a video taken by a U.S. drone aircraft May 21, 2004. It showed a soldier in a helmet and battle gear aiming a weapon at a man lying on the ground, followed by a flash.

Maynulet, from Chicago, is charged with assault with intent to commit murder and could face 20 years in prison if convicted. Defense lawyer Capt. Will Helixon entered the plea and said Maynulet acted out of mercy, shooting the man to end his suffering. Prosecutors contended that the shooting south of Baghdad violated military rules of engagement because the man was injured and unarmed.

Meanwhile, in other legal proceedings in Germany, a U.S. military court convicted a 23-year-old Army mechanic of willfully disobeying orders for refusing to perform duties after a yearlong tour in Iraq.

Spc. Blake Lemoine, who returned to Germany in May 2004, said he wanted to quit the Army because of religious beliefs.

The special military court in Darmstadt, south of Frankfurt, sentenced Lemoine to seven months’ confinement, reduction in rank to private and a bad- conduct discharge.

Lemoine, from Moreauville, La., has spoken out against U.S. soldiers’ treatment of Iraqis, saying, “Iraqi civilians are often treated worse than animals.”