Journalists abducted by ICE have revealed the harsh realities inside US detention centres, exposing the system's poor conditions firsthand.

British journalist Sami Hamdi, El Salvador-born Mario Guevara, and Tufts University scholar Rümeysa Öztürk were all held in ICE jails. They describe being shackled for days, denied lawyers, forced to eat rotten food, and kept in overcrowded cells.

Their stories show the harsh reality of ICE detention, the toll on mental health, and the lack of basic human care, exposing a system many have only read about.

In a report byThe Appeal, Sami Hamdi was travelling in the US on a speaking tour when ICE officials took him at a California airport. The Trump administration revoked his visa after far-right social media groups criticised his reporting on Israel's actions in Gaza. Hamdi said, 'It felt unreal, almost like being in a movie.'

He described being held in tight shackles for days with no relief and denied access to lawyers or medical care unless it was an emergency. He also said he had to sleep in dirty, crowded cells and eat rotten food that made him violently ill.

At the same time, Mario Guevara, who had lived legally in the US for over 20 years, was detained while covering a protest in Georgia. He spent months in ICE custody and was eventually deported back to El Salvador.

Guevara wrote, 'I don't know why ICE wants to continue treating me like a criminal. It pains me to know that I have been denied every privilege and the right to be free when I have never committed any crime.'

Another detainee, Rümeysa Öztürk, a Fulbright scholar, was detained after writing an op-ed about Gaza. She spentfive months in ICE jailsacross the US, including Louisiana.

Öztürk wrote, 'I could have never imagined such an ordeal when I first came to the United States in 2018 to pursue my graduate studies, learn and grow as a scholar, and contribute to the child development field.'

All three journalists reported that being held in detention had a severe impact on their mental and physical health.

Source: International Business Times UK