She was arrested and suffered from police brutality. Despite her injuries, Chourbaji insisted on peaceful protest.[3] She organized workshops among the prisoners to teach peace building and citizenship.[4] Chourbaji persuaded 150 women detainees to go on a hunger strike to force the regime to present their cases to a judge.[3] Her non-violent tactics eventually secured a hearing in a Damascus court, where she and 83 prisoners were granted release in a prisoner swap with the Syrian opposition. Continued surveillance by Syrian security forces resulted in Chourbaji's flight to neighboring Lebanon[4] as an exile with her three children.[3]