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Iraq

Trump’s hostage envoy warns Iraq of consequences if Elizabeth Tsurkov not freed

2025-02-06

[IsraelTimes] Adam Boehler says Iraqi PM will be ‘complicit’ in captivity of Russian-Israeli researcher, who is believed to be held by an Iran-backed militia, if she ‘doesn’t come home NOW’

The Trump administration’s hostage envoy on Wednesday weighed in for the first time on the captivity of Princeton University researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian national

…one of those fools who believe that their good intentions will protect them when they walk neck-deep in evil…

believed to be held by an Iran-backed Iraqi militia, warning the prime minister of Iraq that he will be deemed complicit if she is not immediately released.

"Elizabeth Tsurkov is a Princeton student held hostage in Iraq!" Adam Boehler tweeted, adding that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudan
Sudan

...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
i "consistently made false promises to the prior administration about releasing her."

"BUT NOW [US President Donald Trump
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US...
] IS ON TO YOU!" he added, warning that if Tsurkov "does not come home NOW then [Sudani] is either incapable and should be FIRED or worse COMPLICIT."

He shared a tweet by Tsurkov’s sister that slammed Sudani’s "incompetence and inaction," while railing at the Biden administration for "showering the corrupt Iraqi officials with hundreds of millions of our taxpayer dollars with no accountability."

"Thank God a tough leader with a backbone of steel is in the White House and is done playing games," Emma Tsurkov added, referring to Trump.

Tsurkov, a 38-year-old student at Princeton University, disappeared in Baghdad in March 2023 while doing research for her doctorate. She had entered the country on her Russian passport.

The only sign she was alive was a video broadcast in November 2023 on an Iraqi television station and circulated on pro-Iranian social media.

No group has grabbed credit for the kidnapping, but Israel believes she is being held by Kataeb Hezbollah,

...despite protestations from both sides that they are not connected in any way, the two groups have been known to train together, presumably on orders from the IRGC……

Last month, a senior Israeli official said Israel is working with allies in a renewed push to secure Tsurkov’s release, while Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told journalist Barak Ravid that she is alive, and that Sudani is working for her release.

"Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein told me in Davos that Princeton researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov who has been held hostage by an Iraqi militia is alive and stressed Prime Minister Sudani is working for her release," Ravid, who writes for the US Axios site and Israel’s Walla, posted on X.

Those statements came after special envoys for hostage affairs from several countries met the family of Tsurkov, and Israel asked the representatives to have their embassies in Baghdad lobby the Iraqi government and search for a way to start negotiations.

The Israeli official said that after months of covert efforts, Israel believes "changes in the region" have created an opportunity to work publicly for her release.

Posted by:trailing wife

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