England (L) arrives with her legal council at the Staff Judge Advocate Building (AFP)

FORT BRAGG, United States, August 4 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The lawyer of US Army Private Lynndie England, who made her presence in most of the Iraqi abuse photos, said Tuesday, August 3, that his client was acting under orders from her superiors.

Speaking to journalists after the court’s adjournment in the first day of a four-day military hearing, Richard Hernandez said the Pentagon was doing everything it could to make her a scapegoat.

“MI [military intelligence] investigate MI,” the BBC quoted him as saying. “The fox is guarding the henhouse.”

England, 21, entered court on this sprawling military base in camouflage dress wearing a black beret to face 19 charges related to the abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad .

Chief among the charges are conspiracy to mistreat Iraqi prisoners, assaulting prisoners, committing acts prejudicial to good order, committing indecent acts, disobeying an order and creating and possessing sexually explicit photographs.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of 38 years in a military jail if England is put on court martial.

The military hearing will determine whether she is acquitted of all charges or will face a court martial.

Asked by judge Colonel Denise Arn if she had any questions, seven-month-pregnant England replied: "No, ma'am."

The diminutive army reservist hit the headlines after disturbing digital photographs showing her and fellow soldiers with the 372nd Military Police Company abusing Iraqi detainees were leaked to the media.

In one startling image, England was pictured holding a leash attached to the neck of a naked detainee who was sprawling on the floor of a cell block.

Other photographs showed piles of naked detainees forced into human pyramids and lined up naked being forced to defile themselves.

She was also photographed smiling with a cigarette hanging from her lips, pointing a mock gun at the genitals of a naked Iraqi detainee.

England told Denver 's KCNC station on May 12 that she was instructed by persons in higher rank to torture and sexually abuse Iraqi prisoners.

"I was told to stand here, point thumbs up, look at the camera and take the picture," she said.

Asked who ordered her to pose that way, England replied: "Persons in my chain of command".

‘Just For Fun’

“MI investigate MI. The fox is guarding the henhouse,” Hernandez

The US Army called two witnesses Tuesday, one of whom -- chief warrant officer Paul Arthur -- told the court that England saw the abuses as a prank, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Testifying, Arthur -- who headed up the investigation -- said England told him in an interview that it was all “a big joke” and represented "nothing serious" and had been “just for fun”.

He said England told him “they were joking around, having some fun, during the night shift” at the prison late last year when the abuse occurred.

Hernandez peppered special agent Warren Worth, the day's second witness, with questions about interrogation techniques and the use of army dogs at Abu Ghraib.

Under questioning, Worth conceded an inmate was bitten by a dog, that inmates were forced to wear women's underwear and that treatment for detainees could be rough.

The defense wants to show that abuse at the jail was "systematic" and that senior officers encouraged the tactics to soften up inmates.

"We had no boundaries to stop at, a certain rank or a certain place," Worth said when asked how high up the chain of command the probe went.

"If you're talking about persons higher ... I have no indication of that time of anybody," Worth told the court.

Proceedings adjourned Tuesday without England 's presence, she left the court at lunchtime and did not return for the afternoon session on her doctor's advice although her lawyer declined to say if her absence was directly related to her pregnancy.

The father of her son is army specialist Charles Graner who has also been charged in the abuse scandal.

The Iraqi abuse scandal exploded onto the world stage on April 29 after the US CBS news network published several graphic photos  of Iraqi detainees tortured and sexually abused by American soldiers at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad .

Since then the scandal has been deepening, exposing more elements and factors about interrogation techniques approved by US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who has been under domestic and international pressure to step down.

More and more, a military lawyer for a US soldier in the center of the Iraqi prisoners scandal said Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the former top US commander in Iraq , was present during some of interrogations that saw the torture and abuse of prisoners.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on July 17 the United States should appoint an independent commission to probe the treatment of detainees in Iraq , Afghanistan , Guantanamo and elsewhere, casting doubts on the scope and seriousness of the investigations ordered by the Pentagon.

“There is growing evidence of a high-level policy of abuse. The world is still watching and waiting to see how the United States deals with these crimes," HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth said.

In June 2004, the HRW issued a report entitled "The Road To Abu Ghraib" linking the abuse of detainees in Iraq , Afghanistan and Guantanamo to the policies adopted by US President George W. Bush in his so-called war on terror.