Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian academic abducted in Baghdad in March 2023, was freed this week in what Iran’s Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Tasnim described as a prisoner exchange.
Tasnim reported on Thursday that Tsurkov was freed in exchange for two members of the “resistance,” a term used in Tehran to refer to allied armed groups. The agency’s Baghdad correspondent said one of those released was Imad Amehz, a Lebanese national who was seized by Israeli commandos in northern Lebanon last year.
Earlier Iraqi media had reported that Tsurkov was freed by security forces, without mentioning a swap. Neither Baghdad nor Washington has confirmed Tasnim’s account.
Tsurkov, a Princeton University PhD student and fellow at the New Lines Institute, disappeared in March 2023 while conducting field research in Baghdad. She was believed to have been held by Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shiite militia accused of involvement in abductions and attacks on US and Israeli interests in Iraq.
The group denied responsibility, but an Iraqi official told Israel’s Channel 11 last year that Tsurkov was initially detained by Iraq’s intelligence service — or by individuals posing as its officers — before being transferred to Kata’ib Hezbollah.
Trump announces release
US President Donald Trump announced Tsurkov’s release on Tuesday, saying she was now “safely in the American Embassy in Iraq after being tortured for many months.” Her sister Emma confirmed the news and thanked the Trump administration for its efforts, noting her release came after 903 days in captivity.
Tsurkov’s fate drew wide international attention during her more than two years in captivity.
