The family of Russian-Israeli hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov appeared on Capitol Hill in Washington on Monday with Democratic Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey, marking two years since her abduction in Iraq while she was conducting academic research.
Tsurkov, 38, was abducted in Baghdad in March 2023, with the pro-Iran militia Kataib Hezbollah suspected of her kidnapping.
A doctoral candidate at Princeton University, she specialised in Syrian and Middle Eastern affairs and holds dual Israeli and Russian citizenship. She had entered Iraq using her Russian passport, with her research centring on Iraqi Shia militias.Â
“If something happened to someone in my family, to my sibling, I would try to do everything. I would try to move heaven and earth to be able to get my loved ones back,” Senator Kim said alongside Tsurkov’s sister, Emma, as reported by Haaretz.
Kim vowed to push both the Iraqi government and the Trump administration to work quickly to secure Tsurkov’s release.
There had recently been reports of renewed efforts to secure the Israeli researcher’s release after Trump’s Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler travelled to Baghdad last month.
Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammad Shia al-Sudani has reportedly emphasised the importance of negotiating for the release of Tsurkov, after US officials met with him and went as far as threatening to sanction the country if she is not released soon.
However, Senator Kim said she wanted the Trump administration to prove that the release of Tsurkov is still a priority for the US.Â
“My parents have aged decades in these two years. We all live in a reality that feels impossible to bear, yet we have no choice,” said Emma Tsurkov to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, describing the Iraqi government’s failure to secure her sister’s release as “unacceptable”.
“It is only through sustained pressure and attention that we can hope to see her freed,” she added.
“Our family fought hard under the last administration and they did next to nothing for my sister,” Tsurkov said. “Prime Minister Sudani made an empty promise to President Biden to free my sister and was never held accountable.”
Earlier this month, the US refused a prisoner exchange deal with Iraqi militias that would have seen Elizabeth Tsurkov freed, due to fears that the deal could finance Tehran’s proxy activities across the region.
The Trump administration refused to release prisoners linked to Iran in exchange for the release of Tsurkov, according to Asharq al-Awsat.Â
