First Public Video Reveals Force-Feeding of Detainees in Federal Custody

A new report from The Intercept looks at the story of Ajay Kumar, an asylum-seeker from India, who was detained in an ICE Detention center. When Kumar went on hunger strike to demand his release, a judge allowed the U.S. Government to force-feed him – and this is the first time a video of a detainee being force-fed in federal custody has been released to the public.

This is a practice that is widely condemned by medical professionals and the United Nations has said that force feeding inside ICE Detention centers could be violating the U.N. Convention Against Torture, but this is a standard practice for detainees on hunger strike in U.S. Federal facilities, and often gets little attention.

We speak to the lead journalists of the investigation: Travis Mannon, Investigative video journalist for The Intercept, and José Olivares, lead producer for The Intercept.

Watch as Kumar is force-fed in ICE detention — lifting the veil of secrecy on a practice condemned by medical ethicists.

For full transcript, see above.

A new report from The Intercept looks at the story of Ajay Kumar, an asylum-seeker from India, who was detained in an ICE Detention center. When Kumar went on hunger strike to demand his release, a judge allowed the U.S. Government to force-feed him – and this is the first time a video of a detainee being force-fed in federal custody has been released to the public.

This is a practice that is widely condemned by medical professionals and the United Nations has said that force feeding inside ICE Detention centers could be violating the U.N. Convention Against Torture, but this is a standard practice for detainees on hunger strike in U.S. Federal facilities, and often gets little attention.

We speak to the lead journalists of the investigation: Travis Mannon, Investigative video journalist for The Intercept, and José Olivares, lead producer for The Intercept.