Iraq, U.S., Israel, Russia: Secure Release of Unjustly Detained Scholar Elizabeth Tsurkov

(New York, April 10, 2025): The Iraqi, U.S., Israeli, and Russian governments should make all efforts to secure the release of Elizabeth Tsurkov, a 38-year-old U.S.-based scholar with dual Russian and Israeli nationality believed to have been kidnapped and detained by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia, since March 21, 2023, said DAWN and Human Rights Watch today. 

"Holding anyone unlawfully is cruel and unjust, and the magnitude of the abuse only increases with the passing of time. States, including Russia and Israel, should exert all efforts to encourage a rapid resolution and secure Elizabeth's freedom," said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

Tsurkov, a doctoral student in the Politics Department at Princeton University in New Jersey, was conducting field research on Shia movements in Iraq when she was kidnapped in the Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad. In November 2024, she appeared—under duress—in a video aired on the Iraqi network Al Rabiaa TV asking for action to secure her release. 

"Whatever the allegations against Elizabeth, her kidnapping and continued detention are cruel and lawless, and she should be released immediately," said Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, director of research for Israel-Palestine at DAWN. "It's unfathomable that Elizabeth, her family, and loved ones remain in this nightmare more than two years later."

Tsurkov's family has been in regular communication with the U.S. State Department, which previously confirmed that President Joe Biden had raised her detention in an April 2024 meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. The family has also been in contact with Adam Boehler, President Trump's most recent Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, and his staff, who said they were actively attempting to encourage Tsurkov's release. 

Tsurkov's family has also attempted to meet Iraqi officials to urge them to secure her release. Emma Tsurkov, Elizabeth's sister, confronted Minister al-Sudani during a panel discussion at the Atlantic Council last year, protesting his government's inaction in securing her sister's release. Human rights organizations have appealed publicly for Tsurkov's release. In March 2024, Emma Tsurkov held a rally outside the Iraqi embassy, demanding action to free her sister.

Numerous U.S. officials have alleged that Kataib Hezbollah, one of the militias in Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces under the command of the Iraqi prime minister, is responsible for Tsurkov's kidnapping, based on classified information they have seen. 

For almost two years, the Iraqi government has claimed that it is working to secure her release but to date, there have been no results. In April 2024, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani assured CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour that his government was dedicated to revealing the fate of Tsurkov, after criticism over the perceived inaction of Iraqi authorities regarding her case. On January 23, 2025, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein stated publicly that "Princeton researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov who has been held hostage by an Iraqi militia is alive and stressed Prime Minister Sudani is working for her release," an assurance which he reinforced in a subsequent statement. 

More recently, on March 5, 2025, Iraqi National Security Adviser Qassem al Araji repeated claims that "Iraqi authorities are working under the prime minister's direction" to find Tsurkov. In January, Minister Hussein claimed she was still alive. Araji stated that "the security services are mobilized to locate her and find the group that kidnapped her." 

Elizabeth Tsurkov's abduction falls within a pattern of targeted kidnappings in Iraq that state-affiliated and non-state actors have carried out with impunity. The Iraqi government is responsible for ensuring her safety and release and holding the perpetrators accountable. The international community, including the U.S., Russia, and Israel, should use all diplomatic efforts with the Iraqi government and the relevant militia to secure her release.

Iraq is a state party to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances and is obligated to criminalize enforced disappearances, investigate them when they occur, bring perpetrators to justice, and ensure reparation for victims. Enforced disappearance is currently not a crime under Iraqi law. Enforced disappearances violate a range of human rights, including the right to security and dignity of a person, the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment, and the right to humane conditions of detention.