DENVER - An Army reservist who was photographed smiling and pointing at naked, bound Iraqi prisoners had been ordered to pose because her presence would be especially humiliating to the men, her attorneys said.

The photos were staged by intelligence agents to intimidate other prisoners, and appearing naked in front of a young woman would be especially humiliating to Iraqi men, attorney Rose Mary Zapor said Monday.

Pfc. Lynndie R. England, 21, is charged with mistreating prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in a scandal that has sparked worldwide outrage.

"The (soldiers) pictured were congratulated. They were told the photographs were successful in gathering information," Zapor said.

Defense lawyers believe the photos may have been made at the direction of civilians in the CIA, Zapor said. She said the defense team did not know who told England to pose in them.

Six other soldiers from the 372nd Military Police Company are also charged. One, Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits of Hyndman, Pa., will face a court-martial in Baghdad next week.

Another of England's Denver-based attorneys, Giorgio Ra'shadd, was expected to meet with her today in Fort Bragg, N.C., where England is now stationed.

He said his client was being offered up as a scapegoat for the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners.

"What is offensive to me is that we have generals and the secretary of defense hiding behind a 20-year-old farm girl from West Virginia who lives in a trailer park," Ra'Shadd said.

He said the military was so short of troops in Iraq that untrained people were being used as guards.

"Because there was a shortage of personnel the commander on the scene took people who had no idea how to be MPs and cut them off at the neck from their leadership," he said. "That is crazy."

Asked if his client considered refusing to obey unlawful orders from jail commanders, he said her rank meant she took orders from most other ranks.

Ra'Shadd plans to ask for a change of venue because he does not believe England can get a fair court-martial at Fort Bragg, Zapor said.

England faces military charges including conspiracy to maltreat prisoners and assault consummated by battery, and could face punishments ranging from a reprimand to more than 15 years in prison.

Ra'Shadd, part of a group of attorneys in the Denver area with experience in military cases, and three other lawyers have agreed to take England's case for free, Zapor said.

In photographs that have been shown worldwide, England is seen smiling, cigarette in her mouth, as she leans forward and points at the genitals of a naked, hooded Iraqi. Another photo shows her holding a leash that encircles the neck of a naked Iraqi man lying on his side, his face contorted.

Ra'Shadd said his client joined the Army Reserves out of patriotism and to prevent another terrorist attack like Sept. 11. He said intelligence operatives staged many of the scenes depicted in the photographs to frighten prisoners into talking.

"That is a standard psychological war method," he said. But when it comes to defending his client, he said, "the spooks from the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency and State Department won't show up when we subpoena them. They will go into hiding."

Ra'Shadd has worked on other high-profile military cases, including that of Spc. Simone Holcomb, who refused to return to Iraq so she could care for her seven children. Holcomb was released from active duty in November.