Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy for Hostage Response, on Tuesday reiterated his call on Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to free Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped in Iraq nearly two years ago.
“Iraq is a tough country to run. That said, I am very disappointed in the Prime Minister who, so far, seems more interested in words than actions. I hope this changes IMMEDIATELY and we can bring Princeton Student Elizabeth Tsurkov home from the hands of Kata’ib Hezbollah,” Boehler wrote in a post on social media site X.
Tsurkov, a doctoral student at Princeton University and a fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, has been missing since March 2023. Israel said in July of that year that Tsurkov is being held by Kata'ib Hezbollah, a Shiite militia group.
In January, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said that Tsurkov is alive and stressed that Al Sudani is working for her release.
A subsequent report stated that Tsurkov is expected to be released soon in exchange for the release of eight Hezbollah terrorists by Israel.
Boehler previously took to social media platform X in February to demand action on Tsurkov’s case.
"Elizabeth Tsurkov is a Princeton student held hostage in Iraq! The @IraqiPMO consistently made false promises to the prior administration about releasing her. BUT NOW @realDonaldTrump IS ON TO YOU," Boehler wrote, directly addressing the Iraqi prime minister’s office.
He added that if Tsurkov is not released, Sudani’s office is "either incapable and should be FIRED or worse COMPLICIT. Bring Elizabeth home now!"
Subsequent reports indicated that Boehler had traveled to Iraq in a bid to secure the release of Tsurkov.