‘Shoved the tube so hard it tore my nose’: Kurdish film-maker recounts ‘inhumane’ ICE force-feeding

The Guardian · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · Aug 10, 2026 · 2737 words · By José Olivares

ICE Detention Conditions Human rights violations Medical Ethics

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What to know about ICE Detention Conditions

In June 2025, a sluggish and thin Gabar Choli, with sunken temples and bones visible under his skin, braced himself for the immigration detention center guards to charge into his cell once again.

Claims checked 17

Techniques found 3

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage

Left20%

Center80%

Right0%

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

What happened

In June 2025, a sluggish and thin Gabar Choli, with sunken temples and bones visible under his skin, braced himself for the immigration detention center guards to charge into his cell once again.

Why it matters

Choli was in a solitary confinement medical cell inside the Port Isabel service processing center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in south Texas where immigrants arrested in Donald Trump’s anti-immigration crackdown are…

Common ground

Choli, a 40-year-old Kurdish asylum seeker with a thick beard and long dark hair, had been on hunger strike for over two months, demanding improved conditions for detained immigrants and to be released or deported.

Perspective signals

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

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this ICE Detention Conditions story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that guards, employees of the private prison company Akima Global Services?
How does this story connect ICE Detention Conditions with Human rights violations over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/ice-force-feeding-detention-gaba…

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 95% 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 85% confidence

Evoking sympathy to win support rather than using logical arguments.

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

Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole 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 17 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 7

check_circle Corroborated 6

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

info Single Source 1

schedule

Claim 1: “guards, employees of the private prison company Akima Global Services”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “Choli, a 40-year-old Kurdish asylum seeker... had been on hunger strike for over two months”

CORROBORATED

The Guardian and other reports confirm Choli is a 40-year-old Kurdish asylum seeker who conducted a hunger strike for over two months.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Choli, a 40-year-old Kurdish asylum seeker with a thick beard and long dark hair, had been on hunger strike for over two months, demanding improved conditions for detained immigrants and to be release…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/ice-force-fe…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Ordeal of Gabar Choli. Choli, an activist for an independent Kurdish nation, had sought asylum in the United States in 2022 after receiving death threats for his political activities while living …
https://imago.com.ar/en/internacionales/35530/-

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — ICE obtained a federal court order to force-feed Gabar Choli, a Kurdish filmmaker and UN refugee, for eight months as he hunger-struck to protest deportation to Iran. A federal judge authorized the pr…
https://easternherald.com/2026/08/10/gabar-choli-ice-force-f…

schedule

Claim 3: “On 23 May 2025, ICE and the US attorney’s office for the southern district of Texas filed a second request for a court order to conduct involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 4: “at a 25 February 2025 check-in with ICE, Choli was arrested.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 5: “in 2022 he crossed the border into the US in Blaine, Washington, and requested asylum.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm the specific entry point of Blaine, Washington, in 2022.

schedule

Claim 6: “he began his hunger strike on 24 March, court records show.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 7: “since January 2025, the administration used court orders in plans to subject at least 10 hunger strikers in ICE detention to involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple reports (The Guardian and others) mention the administration's use of court orders to subject at least 10 hunger strikers to involuntary medical procedures including force-feeding.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of shootings by U.S. immigration agents during the second Trump administration (2025–present). Federal immigration agencies in the United States include Immigration and Customs Enforcem…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shootings_by_U.S._immi…

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

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. Its stated mission is to conduct criminal investiga…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Immigration_and_…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 8: “Choli was being force-fed by ICE.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources explicitly state that ICE obtained court orders to force-feed Gabar Choli.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. Its stated mission is to conduct criminal investiga…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Immigration_and_…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) mission is to protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety. This mission is ex…
https://www.ice.gov/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Aug 6, 2020 · Contact an ICE Program or Office Office of Partnership and Engagement (OPE) The Community Engagement Office has a cadre of 25 community relations officers (CROs) in field offices across …
https://www.ice.gov/contact

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Claim 9: “Choli was quietly and intermittently force-fed by ICE for nearly eight months – from late May 2025 until he was deported in January.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results specifically cite the timeframe from late May 2025 until January (2026) for the intermittent force-feeding.

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 — From late May 2025 until his deportation in January, he was subjected to involuntary force-feedings often twice a day.
https://time.news/kurdish-film-maker-describes-inhumane-ice-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Between late May 2025 and January 2026, 40-year-old Kurdish asylum seeker Gabar Choli was intermittently force-fed while held in a solitary confinement.
https://www.newsy-today.com/kurdish-film-maker-recounts-ice-…

verified

Claim 10: “between January 2025 and 4 August 2026, ICE received “a court order for involuntary treatment for 18 hunger strikers”.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this specific claim consists of irrelevant search results (TV series, dictionary definitions, and general Wikipedia entries for 2025) and does not confirm the specific number of 18 court orders.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ice Tower (French: La Tour de glace) is a 2025 fantasy drama film directed by Lucile Hadžihalilović from a screenplay she co-wrote with Geoff Cox. Set in the 1970s, it stars Marion Cotillard as an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ice_Tower

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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

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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

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Claim 11: “he had previously served nine months in prison in Canada following a 2012 drug-smuggling charge and court records show the case was related to receiving just over one kilogram of opium in the mail from Turkey.”

CORROBORATED

CBC News and other web results confirm Gabar Choli was charged in 2012 with importing opium (found in a pizza oven) and served time in Canada.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Google Libros (antes conocido como Google Book Search y Google Print) es un servicio de Google que busca el texto completo de los libros que Google digitaliza, convierte el texto por medio de reconoci…
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
https://www.google.com.co/index.html

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Publicidad Todo acerca de Google Google.com in English © 2026 - Privacidad - Condiciones
https://www.google.com/?hl=es-CO

info

Claim 12: “Choli... had come to Canada in 2007 from what he considers occupied territory in Iran.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the name Gabar Choli is confirmed across sources, the specific detail of arriving in Canada in 2007 from Iran is not corroborated by multiple independent sources in the provided evidence; other sources focus on his 2012 legal issues or 2022 US entry.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Gabar Choli tells of how, for months, he was shackled, pinned and forcibly fed – and the physical and emotional scars the ordeal has left.ICE finally deported Choli to Canada on 6 January this year, w…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/ice-force-fe…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Gabar Choli was first charged in August 2012 with unlawful import of opium and possession for purpose of trafficking opium. Opium was found in the false bottom of a pizza oven delivered to Choli.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/gabar-choli-appeal-…

schedule

Claim 13: “the federal judge, Rolando Olvera, ordered Choli to be force-fed”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 14: “ICE finally deported Choli to Canada on 6 January this year”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 15: “Court records say a judge denied his asylum claim in 2024 but granted him protection from deportation to Iran.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the 2024 judge's ruling on his asylum claim or protection from deportation to Iran.

check_circle

Claim 16: “Choli was in a solitary confinement medical cell inside the Port Isabel service processing center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in south Texas”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (The Guardian and other web search results) confirm Gabar Choli was held in a solitary confinement medical cell at the Port Isabel service processing center in Texas.

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.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/ice-force-feeding-torture

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Choli was in a solitary confinement medical cell inside the Port Isabel service processing center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in south Texas where immigrants arres…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/ice-force-fe…

travel_explore

schedule

Claim 17: “He was first sent to the Desert View Annex in California”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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.