One of the first prisoners at Guantanamo Bay has testified before Congress on the abuse and torture he says he suffered in US custody. Speaking by satellite from Germany, Turkish citizen Murat Kurnaz told the House Foreign Affairs Committee he was beaten, given electric shocks, submerged in water, starved, and chained to a ceiling for days. Kurnaz also says he was forced to take medication and subjected to sexual and religious abuse. His case drew attention last year following the disclosure the US military held him for nearly five years despite privately acknowledging his innocence just months after his capture. Asked about Kurnaz’s congressional testimony, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, “I can’t put it any more plainly than the President of the United States has put it, and he says the United States does not torture.”