Kurdish film-maker Gabar Choli has spoken out for the first time about being force-fed during a hunger strike over eight months in ICE detention in Texas, describing the treatment as inhumane and psychologically devastating.
Key facts
- Gabar Choli, a Kurdish film-maker and activist, was detained by ICE in Texas after his asylum application was denied.
- He was force-fed over the course of eight months while on hunger strike, often twice a day.
- Choli was held in a solitary confinement medical cell at the Port Isabel service processing center in south Texas.
- Force-feeding is widely considered torture by international human rights groups.
- Choli was deported and now lives in Canada.
A Kurdish film-maker and activist has spoken publicly for the first time about being force-fed during a hunger strike while held in US immigration detention, describing an ordeal he says harmed him both physically and psychologically. Gabar Choli told the Guardian that the treatment, which he endured over eight months, left lasting scars.
According to the Guardian, Choli was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after his asylum application was denied. He was held at the Port Isabel service processing center, an ICE detention facility in south Texas where immigrants arrested during Donald Trump’s anti-immigration crackdown are detained.
Choli described being shackled, pinned and forcibly fed, often twice a day. In June 2025, the Guardian reports, he was sluggish and thin, with sunken temples and bones visible under his skin, as he braced for guards to charge into his solitary confinement medical cell once again.
Recounting the physical toll of the procedure, Choli said guards ‘shoved the tube so hard it tore my nose.’ He said the experience ‘mentally broke me,’ describing the coercive treatment as inhumane.
Force-feeding is a practice widely considered to be torture by international human rights groups, according to the Guardian. Choli endured it repeatedly during his months in detention.
Choli was ultimately deported and now lives in Canada, where he has begun to speak about what he says was an inhumane experience in US custody. His account offers a first-person window into conditions faced by some detainees held under the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies.
Why it matters
Force-feeding is regarded by international human rights organizations as a form of torture, and Choli's account raises questions about conditions and medical practices inside ICE detention facilities. As immigration enforcement intensified under the Trump administration, first-person testimony from former detainees offers rare insight into how such policies affect individuals.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Gabar Choli?
Gabar Choli is a Kurdish film-maker and activist who was detained by ICE in Texas after his asylum application was denied. He was later deported and now lives in Canada.
Where was Choli detained?
He was held at the Port Isabel service processing center, an ICE detention facility in south Texas, including in a solitary confinement medical cell.
How long was he force-fed?
According to the Guardian, Choli was force-fed over the course of eight months while on hunger strike, often twice a day.