Princeton PhD Student Elizabeth Tsurkov Freed After More Than Two Years in Captivity.
Elizabeth Tsurkov, a dual Israeli-Russian citizen and doctoral student at Princeton University, has been released after spending more than two years in captivity at the hands of the Shiite militia Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq. Her release was brokered with U.S. mediation, and she is expected to reunite with her family soon.
Tsurkov disappeared in March 2023 while conducting research for her dissertation in Iraq. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced her release on his social media platform Truth Social, and on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the news, calling it a “moment of joy for the entire nation of Israel.”
Netanyahu praised the months of work led by Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for missing and captive persons. “We will continue to fight with courage and determination until we bring home all our hostages — the living and the deceased,” he said, adding that he had spoken personally with Tsurkov’s sisters, Avital and Emma.
Trump, in his announcement, said Tsurkov was now safe at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad after enduring “many months of torture.” He called on Hamas to immediately release its remaining hostages.
Emma Tsurkov expressed gratitude in a post on X, thanking Trump, his envoy Adam Boehler, U.S. chargé d’affaires Joshua Harris, and the nonprofit Global Reach for their efforts. She noted that the family had waited 903 days for Elizabeth’s return.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani also confirmed the release, crediting his country’s security and intelligence forces with locating the hideout where Tsurkov had been held before handing her over to U.S. officials. Kataib Hezbollah, linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, has been accused of numerous assassinations and abductions in Iraq and is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., UAE, and Japan.
Born in Leningrad in 1986, Tsurkov immigrated to Israel with her family in 1990. A fluent Arabic speaker, she became known as a researcher and human rights advocate focusing on the Levant, Syria’s civil war, and protest movements in Iraq. Her abduction sparked international concern, with Amnesty International and other organizations demanding her release.
With her freedom secured, Tsurkov is expected to travel home to her family after more than two years in captivity.
