Members of the Palestinian Prisoners Committee maintain a rally exterior the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) workplace in Gaza City on July 17, 2023, demanding the Iraqi authorities to incorporate Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails in the alternate for Israeli-Russian educational Elizabeth Tsurkov.
Majdi Fathi | Nurphoto | Getty Images
An Israeli-Russian graduate scholar from Princeton University in New Jersey who was kidnapped by a Shiite militia in Iraq in 2023 has been released from captivity and is now in U.S. custody, President Donald Trump and the scholar’s household stated on Tuesday.
Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped by the militia Kataib Hezbollah throughout a analysis journey to Iraq in March 2023, in line with officers.
Trump stated on social media that Tsurkov “is now safely in the American Embassy in Iraq after being tortured for many months.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump for his assist in gaining Tsurkov’s launch, a senior U.S. official stated.
The launch got here days after Trump signed an govt order paving the way in which for the U.S. to designate nations world wide as state sponsors of wrongful detention and impose punitive measures on these it deems are wrongfully holding Americans.
Global Reach, a nonprofit that works for the discharge of Americans held in captivity overseas, stated in a press release that Tsurkov had obtained a medical evaluation on the embassy.
Emma Tsurkov, considered one of Elizabeth’s sisters, stated in the assertion her household was grateful to the Trump administration for serving to safe her launch.
“We cannot wait to see Elizabeth and give her all the love we have been waiting to share for 903 days,” Emma Tsurkov stated.
In a press release on social media confirming Tsurkov’s launch, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani stated: “We reaffirm once again that we will not be lenient in enforcing the law and upholding the authority of the state, and we will not allow anyone to tarnish the reputation of Iraq and Iraqis.”
Under the administration of former President Joe Biden, Tsurkov’s household struggled to get Washington to throw its weight behind efforts to safe her launch. U.S. officers then stated there was little they may do as a result of she isn’t an American citizen.
A Trump administration hostage negotiator traveled to Iraq in February to push for Tsurkov’s launch, in line with sources.