Federal judge authorizes force-feeding asylum seeker hunk on hunger strike

[unicorn]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/06/26/ice-force-feed-iran-mehrad-asadi-eidivand/84349361007/

"A federal judge granted a request allowing immigration officials to force-feed an Iranian asylum seeker on hunger strike while in detention in Arizona. Mehrad Asadi Eidivand, who was living in the U.S. on a work permit, was arrested outside his Phoenix home in May and taken to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Florence, Arizona. In protest of his detainment, the avid bodybuilder went on an initial hunger strike that left him diagnosed with acute kidney injury, court records say. Asadi Eidivand soon began a second hunger strike, leading officials on Monday to ask a federal judge's permission to monitor his health, administer intravenous fluids and medicines, and insert a feeding tube through his nose without consent. U.S. District Judge Steven Logan granted the request the same day, writing Asadi Eidivand was at risk of organ failure...".

[PeterRS]

I recall at the start of the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland in the early 1980s ten alleged members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) went on hunger strike in prison. The British government allowed all to die.

I personally cannot see the point of hunger strikes unless the result is almost certain to be a favourable outcome for the striker. The man in the OP is already suffering medical issues, hardly beneficial to a body builder even if his strike succeeds.

A quick glance at the history of hunger strikes seems to show that only in the case of mass hunger strike protests are they likely to achieve anything like their desired result. But most such mass strikes are said at the outset to be of limited duration - not until death.

[joizy]

6 hours ago, PeterRS said:

I recall at the start of the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland in the early 1980s ten alleged members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) went on hunger strike in prison. The British government allowed all to die.

I personally cannot see the point of hunger strikes unless the result is almost certain to be a favourable outcome for the striker. The man in the OP is already suffering medical issues, hardly beneficial to a body builder even if his strike succeeds.

A quick glance at the history of hunger strikes seems to show that only in the case of mass hunger strike protests are they likely to achieve anything like their desired result. But most such mass strikes are said at the outset to be of limited duration - not until death.

I’d rather die than remain in detention indefinitely. If the ICE goons tried to kidnap me, they’d have to kill me, because I definitely would not go willingly, especially to a torture center in El Salvador.

[unicorn]

8 hours ago, joizy said:

I’d rather die than remain in detention indefinitely. If the ICE goons tried to kidnap me, they’d have to kill me, because I definitely would not go willingly, especially to a torture center in El Salvador.

There are places even worse than that in Iran, where he's from. I would also personally prefer death to a life of eternal torture. As they say in New Hampshire: live free or die.

[Riobard]

I’ve witnessed it with patients that objected following review board greenlighting of tube feeding but did not want the imposition of restraints and were invasively nourished with acute care setting visual supervision. It’s unimaginably horrible, usually a losing battle no more than palliative. I suspect restraints will be applied in this case because the patience of less intrusive monitoring will wear thin and his status unfortunately evokes little public sympathy. 

[unicorn]

I can hardly think of anything more disgusting than force-feeding someone on a hunger strike.