Gitmo inmate tells TV network of abuse

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: A Guantanamo detainee phoned a Middle Eastern TV network to say he was severely beaten for refusing to leave his cell, giving the first media interview with someone held at the US prison in Cuba.

Mohammed el Gharani, a 21-year-old from Chad, told Al-Jazeera that guards beat him with batons and sprayed him with tear gas, according to the network. The comments were published on its website on Tuesday.

The US has never allowed journalists to interview Guantanamo prisoners and Al-Jazeera did not say how it managed to speak with el Gharani.