Military intelligence officers abused inmates at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, according to witnesses testifying at a military hearing that is examining whether low-ranking military police were following orders when they humiliated detainees.

While several military intelligence officers appeared in one of the Abu Ghraib photographs which showed soldiers standing around a human pyramid of naked Iraqis most of the attention has so far focused on the role of seven military police who have been charged over the abuses.

But on the third day of a hearing to determine whether Private Lynndie England, who became synonymous with the abuses after appearing in a photograph holding a naked Iraqi prisoner on a leash, should face court-martial, government witnesses raised new questions about the role of military intelligence officers.

Specialist Israel Rivera, an intelligence analyst, described being invited by another military intelligence officer to watch “something cool”, referring to a situation where several military intelligence officers and military police abused three naked prisoners suspected of raping an Iraqi teenager.

Government lawyers argue that Pte England and her military police colleagues flagrantly disobeyed military rules by humiliating the prisoners. But lawyers for Pte England have focused on confusion over whether military intelligence or military police were in charge of the prison, arguing that intelligence officers instructed the police to soften up prisoners for interrogations.

Several witnesses, including Spec Rivera, recounted that dogs were sometimes present during interrogations, contradicting claims by General Ricardo Sanchez, who until recently commanded US forces in Iraq, before the Senate in May that dogs were not approved for use at Abu Ghraib.

But while lawyers for Pte England argue that she was forced to commit abuses, they have provided little information about who ordered the West Virginia reservist to abuse the prisoners, relying instead on the argument that the environment at the prison was lax because guards had not been provided adequate training in detention policies.

Captain Caroyln Wood, who was in charge of interrogations at Abu Ghraib, dismissed claims that military intelligence officers condoned abuse. She said those officers who were implicated in several incidents had been reprimanded. But Richard Hernandez, a civilian lawyer representing Pte England, questioned why those officers, who had sexually humiliated prisoners, were not facing court-martial.

Pte England faces a maximum of 38 years in prison if convicted of all charges.