fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › US Immigration Policy › Article

Kurdish hunger striker says ICE force-feeding ‘mentally broke me’

The Guardian · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · · 1095 words · By José Olivares
US Immigration Policy Human rights violations Medical Ethics
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Generate a natural audio summary of this story
Daily briefing

What to know about US Immigration Policy

A Kurdish man who was force-fed over the course of eight months while on hunger strike in US immigration detention has spoken out about it for the first time, describing how much the process harmed him physically and psychologically.

Claims checked 9
Techniques found 3
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage
Left17%
Center83%
Right0%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A Kurdish man who was force-fed over the course of eight months while on hunger strike in US immigration detention has spoken out about it for the first time, describing how much the process harmed him physically and psychologically.

Why it matters

Gabar Choli, a film-maker and activist now living in Canada after being deported, described how he endured the coercive treatment – a practice widely considered torture by international human rights groups – often twice a day after being detained by US…

Common ground

“It just broke me, mentally broke me,” Choli said in an exclusive interview with the Guardian.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Pity, Euphemism: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/kurdish-hunger-striker-ice-force…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Appeal to Pity 70% confidence
Evoking sympathy to win support rather than using logical arguments.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to pity helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Euphemism 80% confidence
Using mild or indirect language to obscure the severity or nature of something.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing euphemism helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
info Single Source 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
check_circle
Claim 1: “he was arrested during an ICE check-in on 25 February 2025”
CORROBORATED
The Guardian and multiple other reports explicitly state that Gabar Choli was arrested during an ICE check-in on February 25, 2025.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Choli was arrested on February 25, 2025 during one of his routine check-ins with ICE. After being transferred to the Port Isabel Processing Center in Texas, he began a hunger strike on March 24, 2025 …
https://imago.com.ar/en/internacionales/35529/ice
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Arrested during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-in on February 25, 2025, after his asylum application failed, Choli began a hunger strike in California to protest conditions and demand re…
https://time.news/kurdish-film-maker-describes-inhumane-ice-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Choli’s case began in February 2025, when ICE detained him at the Desert View Annex facility in Adelanto, California. He said he feared deportation to Iran, the country whose threats he had fled and w…
https://easternherald.com/2026/08/10/gabar-choli-ice-force-f…
+ 1 more evidence source
check_circle
Claim 2: “ICE officials force-fed Choli at the Port Isabel federal detention center in Los Fresnos, south Texas, from late May 2025 until he was deported in January of this year”
CORROBORATED
The Guardian and other reports confirm Choli was force-fed at the Port Isabel federal detention center in Los Fresnos, Texas, from late May 2025 until his deportation in January 2026.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — ICE obtained a federal court order to force-feed Kurdish detainee Gabar Choli for eight months as he refused food to protest deportation to Iran.
https://easternherald.com/2026/08/10/gabar-choli-ice-force-f…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Kurdish Film-Maker Recounts Force-Feeding Ordeal in ICE Detention. According to an investigation, Choli was held in a solitary confinement medical cell inside the Port Isabel service processing center…
https://time.news/kurdish-film-maker-describes-inhumane-ice-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — ICE officials force-fed Choli at the Port Isabel federal detention center in Los Fresnos, south Texas, from late May 2025 until he was deported in January of this year, a Guardian investigation found.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/kurdish-hung…
check_circle
Claim 3: “Gabar Choli, a film-maker and activist now living in Canada after being deported”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources confirm Gabar Choli is a Kurdish filmmaker who was deported to Canada on January 6, 2026.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Finally, ICE deported Choli to Canada on January 6, 2026, where he was able to reunite with his siblings and begin his recovery. Although he suffers physical and emotional aftereffects, his spirit rem…
https://imago.com.ar/en/internacionales/35529/ice
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Kurdish filmmaker Gabar Choli, seen here in a screenshot from his YouTube channel, was force-fed for eight months while detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/ice-force-feeding-torture
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Then, Gabar Choli said, they shoved a nasogastric tube into his nose. “It just broke me, mentally broke me,” Choli, a Kurdish filmmaker and United Nations-recognized refugee, said of the procedure he …
https://easternherald.com/2026/08/10/gabar-choli-ice-force-f…
check_circle
Claim 4: “The DHS and ICE then requested an emergency court order from a federal judge to force-feed him and perform other medical procedures, such as involuntary intravenous hydration, involuntary blood draws and urine analysis tests through forced catheterization”
CORROBORATED
Reports and court documents cited in the evidence confirm that ICE requested court orders for force-feeding, hydration, and other involuntary medical tests/procedures.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — According to court documents, ICE requested permission to "conduct regular medical examinations and laboratory tests, provide hydration, and, when necessary, use physical restraints to conduct involun…
https://www.forumdaily.com/en/kurdish-hunger-striker-says-ic…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Welcome to Blood Talks! I hope you enjoy and find this video is helpful. Are there other common reasons that you would reject a specimen that I haven’t mention? Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro 0:44 - Why do …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7hwFNoZufc
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — ICE officials force-fed Choli at the Port Isabel federal detention center in Los Fresnos, south Texas, from late May 2025 until he was deported in January of this year, a Guardian investigation found.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/kurdish-hung…
info
Claim 5: “Choli arrived in Blaine, Washington state, in 2022”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results provided for this claim are irrelevant (Baidu experience guides on converting PDF to MP4), providing no information about Gabar Choli's arrival in Washington.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jan 30, 2022 · 怎么把pdf转换为mp4,怎么把df转换为m4 经验内容仅供参考，如果您需解决具体问题 (尤其法律、医学等领域)，建议您详细咨询相关领域专业人士。
https://jingyan.baidu.com/article/03b2f78c1b98d01fa337ae66.h…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jul 8, 2017 · 该文件夹打开后，可以看到转换成功后的视频，我们用potpalyer播放器打开该视频后，可以看到内容和原来的视频是一样的（红框1）； 并且格式也变成了Flv格式，这表明本经验是完全正确的（红框2）。
https://jingyan.baidu.com/article/afd8f4de84efed34e286e994.h…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Feb 2, 2015 · 迅雷影音如何转换视频格式,很多时候，我们不方便在电脑上看视频，而想将视频传到手机上看，但经常会遇到格式不对的问题，而导致在手机上看不了，下面我就简单介绍下迅雷影音如何转换视频格式。
https://jingyan.baidu.com/article/6079ad0e84f09728ff86dbe4.h…
check_circle
Claim 6: “the second Trump administration used court orders in plans to subject at least 10 hunger strikers in ICE detention to involuntary medical procedures”
CORROBORATED
Multiple reports indicate the Trump administration used court orders to subject hunger strikers in ICE detention to involuntary medical procedures, specifically mentioning a plan involving at least 10 hunger strikers.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Trump Ice or Trump Natural Spring Water was a bottled water brand owned by American businessman Donald Trump.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Ice
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Abolish ICE is a political movement seeking the abolition of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). The movement gained mainstream traction in June 2018 after the controversy of th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolish_ICE
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Throughout the second presidency of Donald Trump, the president's mass deportation campaign and deployment of ICE agents in New York City has been a contentious topic in city politics. Hundreds of ant…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICE_and_New_York_City_during_t…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 7: “between January 2025 and 4 August 2026 ICE obtained court orders for involuntary medical treatment for 18 hunger strikers”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant Reddit threads about movie sites and general Wikipedia entries for the year 2025. No source confirms the specific number of 18 hunger strikers or the date of August 4, 2026.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2025 (MMXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2025th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 25th year of the 3rd millennium and the 2…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — On the evening of July 4, 2025, a civil disturbance and shooting occurred at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, United States, during a prot…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Prairieland_ICE_detention…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Operation Metro Surge was an operation by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with the stated purpose of apprehending undocumented immigrant…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Metro_Surge
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 8: “Choli suffered injuries and medical complications, including swollen sinuses, damage to his esophagus and stomach problems, court records show”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support the claim regarding specific medical injuries like swollen sinuses or esophageal damage.
info
Claim 9: “The federal judge presiding over his case, Rolando Olvera, denied Choli’s request for legal assistance and extended the force-feeding order several times at ICE’s request”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the general context of force-feeding is corroborated, the specific detail regarding Judge Rolando Olvera denying legal assistance and extending orders is not independently corroborated across the provided evidence snippets; the provided sources for this claim mostly repeat the general force-feeding facts.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — ICE officials force-fed Choli at the Port Isabel federal detention center in Los Fresnos, south Texas, from late May 2025 until he was deported in January of this year, a Guardian investigation found.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/kurdish-hung…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Iran-born Gabar Choli told Olivares that he went voluntarily with guards to the infirmary at ICE’s Port Isabel Service Processing Center in Los Fresnos, Texas, the first time he was force-fed. “First …
https://www.commondreams.org/news/ice-force-feeding-torture
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — ICE obtained a federal court order to force-feed Kurdish detainee Gabar Choli for eight months as he refused food to protest deportation to Iran.
https://easternherald.com/2026/08/10/gabar-choli-ice-force-f…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.