Kidnapping
Tsurkov entered Iraq with her Russian passport in January 2023. [16] [3] She was visiting Iraq to conduct field research in Iraq for her doctoral dissertation at Princeton University, as confirmed by the university's deputy spokesperson on October 3, 2023. [17] Multiple Princeton scholars and employees, including Professors Amaney Jamal, Tali Mendelberg and Mark Beissinger, were aware of her research in Baghdad. [18]
Tsurkov contacted a Shiite cleric named Ahmed Alwani with the intention of meeting his cousin Muhammad Alwani, a senior official in the Kata'ib Hezbollah in Iraq. When the two men discovered Tsurkov's Israeli citizenship, Muhammad Alwani decided to have her kidnapped. [19] Tsurkova was abducted on March 21, 2023, while sitting in a cafe in Baghdad's Karrada district. [20] [21]
Response
Shortly after her disappearance, an Iraqi news website said that Iraqi authorities were questioning an Iranian citizen in connection to the kidnapping. [22]
In early July 2023, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Tsurkov had been abducted, and accused Kata'ib Hezbollah of abducting her, which they denied. [3] [7] [8] [16] [23] The Iraqi government made a statement that they were investigating Tsurkov's disappearance, but so far had no answers. [22] [3]
On September 8, 2023, human rights organizations Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Scholars at Risk and Democracy for the Arab World Now pledged the Iraqi government "to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of Elizabeth Tsurkov". [4] On September 11, American senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker wrote a letter asking American President Joe Biden to put pressure on the Iraqi government for Tsurkov's release. [24] On September 13, a Princeton spokesperson said the university "...continues to communicate with relevant government officials and experts to understand how we can best support Elizabeth’s safe return to her family and her studies at Princeton". [25]
On November 13, 2023, a 4-minute video of Tsurkov was released on Telegram and subsequently aired by Al Rabiaa TV. [16] In the video, which could not be authenticated, Tsurkov says she had been detained for seven months, although she does not identify her captors or location, and she also mentions the Gaza war. [22] [3] [16] Tsurkov also says in the video that she had been working for the CIA and Mossad, which Tsurkov's family denied. [3] Several Iraqi experts doubted the confession and determined that it was made under duress and therefore bogus. [26]
In late January 2025, Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein confirmed to Israeli journalist Barak Ravid that Tsurkov was still alive and that efforts were underway to secure her release. [27] [28] Tsurkov's family expressed doubt about the Iraqi government's efforts. [29]
