FORT MEADE, Md. — The highestranking officer charged with crimes at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq embarrassed the Army by turning a blind eye that allowed the abuses to occur, an Army prosecutor said yesterday.

Army Lieutenant Colonel Steven Jordan exhibited a “negligence and willful, wanton turning away from the abuses that occurred there,” even if he didn’t mistreat prisoners himself, said prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel John Tracy, during opening statements in the military’s equivalent of a grand jury proceeding at a Maryland courtroom.

Defense attorney Major Kris Poppe argued that Jordan, a civil affairs officer, did his best amid a confusing ad hoc command structure.

Major Poppe said rogue military police soldiers who were not under Jordan’s command committed most of the abuses. Jordan tried to protect soldiers after being thrust into an unfamiliar military intelligence role, the attorney said.

“In the end, we believe the story will show to you that Colonel Jordan did not commit criminal misconduct,” Major Poppe told the hearing officer, Colonel Daniel Cummings. “In the end, he did not commit a crime and he should not be subjected to a general court martial.”

Jordan was second-in-charge of interrogations at Abu Ghraib in late 2003, when detainees were physically abused, threatened with dogs and sexually humiliated. Eleven soldiers have been convicted in the scandal.

Jordan, a 50-year-old reservist from Fredericksburg, Va., was director of the Joint Interrogation Debriefing Center, where interrogations were planned and reviewed.

He is charged with 12 offenses, including one count of cruelty and maltreatment for allegedly subjecting detainees to forced nudity and intimidation by dogs. He faces a maximum of 42 years in prison if convicted of all counts.

Three counts are of dereliction of duty involving allegedly failing to supervise soldiers and for allegedly approving the use of dogs and other harsh interrogation techniques without permission. Two counts involve making false official statements for allegedly lying to Major General Antonio Taguba and Major General George Fay.

Jordan also is charged with two counts of willfully disobeying General Fay’s and General Taguba’s orders not to communicate with other soldiers and potential witnesses about the investigations, and two counts of false swearing for comments he allegedly made to others regarding the investigations and conditions at Abu Ghraib.

The Article 32 hearing at Fort Meade is expected to last three to six days. Military lawyers for both sides plan to call about 50 witnesses, most of whom will testify by telephone, a military justice specialist, Lieutenant Colonel Patricia Lewis, said.