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President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that his administration secured the release of Princeton graduate student Elizabeth Tsurkov, who had been held hostage by the Iraqi terrorist group Kata’ib Hezbollah for more than two years.
Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian national whose sister is a U.S. citizen, is now safe inside the American embassy in Iraq following months of negotiations, Trump said in a social media post.
“I am pleased to report that Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton Student, whose sister is an American Citizen, was just released by Kata’ib Hezbollah (MILITANT Hezbollah), and is now safely in the American Embassy in Iraq after being tortured for many months,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I will always fight for JUSTICE, and never give up. HAMAS, RELEASE THE HOSTAGES, NOW!”
Her sister, Emma Tsurkov, credited Trump’s special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, with making her release possible. She said the family was preparing to welcome Elizabeth home after 903 days in captivity.
“We cannot wait to see Elizabeth and give her all the love we have been waiting to share for 903 days,” she said in a statement published by The Hill. “We are so thankful to President Trump and his Special Envoy, Adam Boehler. If Adam had not made my sister’s return his personal mission, I do not know where we would be.”
Elizabeth Tsurkov disappeared in Baghdad in March 2023 while conducting academic research and was later confirmed alive in July of that year. U.S. officials said she was subjected to torture during her captivity.
The announcement marks the latest in a series of high-profile hostage recoveries under Trump, who has repeatedly emphasized his administration’s commitment to bringing home Americans and allies held abroad.
Since entering office, President Donald J. Trump and his team have helped secure the freedom of more than 47 Americans who were detained overseas. Among those who have returned home is Ksenia Karelina, an American ballet dancer who spent 14 months in a Russian penal colony before being released in April.
“Mr. Trump, I’m so, so grateful for you to bring me home and for [the] American government. And I never felt more blessed to be American — and I’m so, so happy to get home. Thank you,” Karelina said.