When 36-year-old Princeton University graduate student Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped in Iraq, it set off a grueling 903-day fight her sister never expected.
“I honestly was so naive when she was kidnapped. I had no idea what it would take,” Elizabeth’s sister, Emma, told “CBS Sunday Morning.”
In March 2023, Elizabeth — an Israeli Russian dual citizen — was abducted off the street and held for ransom by members of Kata’ib Hezbollah, a terrorist organization based in Iraq and funded by Iran. She was conducting fieldwork for her PhD in political science at the time, something she had done safely many times before.
Emma, who earned her PhD at Stanford and is married to an American, said Elizabeth “doesn’t just sit in some ivy tower reading books about Iraq. She believes in going to talk to Iraqis.”
Fighting to rescue Elizabeth Tsurkov
When Emma learned her sister had been abducted, she first reached out to Russian authorities for help. But Emma said the Russian government showed little interest in rescuing her sister, pointing to Elizabeth’s public opinions online as a human rights activist.
Then the Israeli government stepped up to help, but the assistance stalled after the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack. Suddenly, nearly eight months after her sister’s capture, headlines were overtaken by news of the 250 hostages.
As Israel intensified its strikes on Gaza, Emma feared her sister’s captors might retaliate, putting her life at greater risk.
“I would go to sleep every night. I would — not sleep — I would attempt to sleep every night and just check my phone. Let there not be a picture of her dead body. Let there not be a video of a beheading,” Emma said.
Emma continued to ramp up her campaign to save her sister.
“I realized I have to be that responsible adult. There’s no one else. If I’m not willing to see her die in captivity, and I’m not, then I have no choice but to put my big girl pants on and just go into the world and fight for her,” she said.
Shortly after, a video released online showed Elizabeth was alive, though Emma says she appeared to be under duress and in pain. To Emma, it was clear her sister was being tortured.
“More importantly, she looked terrified. Terrified. I’ve never seen her so scared in my life,” Emma recalled.
“Don’t hope. Help.”
In late 2023 and into the following year, Emma continued to lobby State Department officials in the Biden administration, urging them to pressure the Iraqi government — heavily dependent on U.S. aid — to help locate Elizabeth and negotiate her release. But she says few in the State Department would meet with her or even take her calls.
“I would often hear, ‘Oh. We feel — we feel for you. This is terrible. We know your sister. She is so brilliant. We really hope that she comes out of captivity.’ But what do you mean we hope? Don’t hope. Help,” Emma said.
Fighting for her sister, Emma says, brought out a fearlessness she didn’t know she had.
In April 2024, when the Iraqi prime minister visited Washington, Emma was there too. This time, she said she decided it was “time for some guerilla tactics.”
Emma and others projected laser messages onto the Willard Hotel, where the Iraqi delegation was staying. At a later event, Emma stood in the back of the room and addressed the prime minister directly.
“My sister’s been held hostage for 13 months, and you don’t care. You should be ashamed of yourself. You’re not doing anything to help her. She’s innocent — and you know it,” she shouted. Yet, her sister remained in captivity.