U.S. Envoy for Hostages Ambassador Adam Boehler urged Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani to help bring about the release of Israeli-Russian captive Elizabeth Tsurkov in a post on X on Tuesday.
Sharing a video clip from the “Bring Elizabeth Home” campaign website, Boehler wrote that al-Sudani “has an opportunity RIGHT NOW to show the world why he should or should not be prime minister” of Iraq.
This is the story of Elizabeth Tsurkov. @IraqiPMO has an opportunity RIGHT NOW to show the world why he should or should not be prime minister. https://t.co/zPjLikcAtH
— Adam Boehler (@aboehler) February 18, 2025
Tsurkov, a Princeton University researcher, has been held captive in Iraq by Iranian-backed Shi’ite militia Kata’ib Hezbollah (“The Battalions of the Party of God”) since March 2023. Washington has designated the militia (a separate and distinct organization from the Lebanese Hezbollah) as a terrorist group.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told an Israeli journalist last month that his government, which receives hundreds of millions in American economic and military assistance, was attempting to help free Tsurkov.
Earlier this year, Emma Tsurkov, Elizabeth’s sister, told JNS that Trump’s return to the White House for his second term gave her family hope.
“We are very hopeful that the incoming [U.S.] administration will put an end to the lack of accountability and lawlessness that the Iraqi government is allowed to get away with,” she said.
