Sister recounts 903-day fight to free sibling kidnapped in Iraq

When 36-year-old Princeton University postgraduate pupil Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped successful Iraq, it acceptable disconnected a grueling 903-day combat her sister ne'er expected.

"I honestly was truthful naive erstwhile she was kidnapped. I had nary thought what it would take," Elizabeth's sister, Emma, told "CBS Sunday Morning."

In March 2023, Elizabeth — an Israeli Russian dual national — was abducted disconnected the thoroughfare and held for ransom by members of Kata'ib Hezbollah, a violent enactment based successful Iraq and funded by Iran. She was conducting fieldwork for her PhD successful governmental subject astatine the time, thing she had done safely galore times before.

Emma, who earned her PhD astatine Stanford and is joined to an American, said Elizabeth "doesn't conscionable beryllium successful immoderate ivy operation speechmaking books astir Iraq. She believes successful going to speech to Iraqis."

Fighting to rescue Elizabeth Tsurkov 

When Emma learned her sister had been abducted, she archetypal reached retired to Russian authorities for help. But Emma said the Russian authorities showed small involvement successful rescuing her sister, pointing to Elizabeth's nationalist opinions online arsenic a quality rights activist.

Then the Israeli authorities stepped up to help, but the assistance stalled aft the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas-led violent attack. Suddenly, astir 8 months aft her sister's capture, headlines were overtaken by quality of the 250 hostages.

As Israel intensified its strikes connected Gaza, Emma feared her sister's captors mightiness retaliate, putting her beingness astatine greater risk.

"I would spell to slumber each night. I would — not slumber — I would effort to slumber each nighttime and conscionable cheque my phone. Let determination not beryllium a representation of her dormant body. Let determination not beryllium a video of a beheading," Emma said.

Emma continued to ramp up her run to prevention her sister.

"I realized I person to beryllium that liable adult. There's nary 1 else. If I'm not consenting to spot her dice successful captivity, and I'm not, past I person nary prime but to enactment my large miss pants connected and conscionable spell into the satellite and combat for her," she said.

Shortly after, a video released online showed Elizabeth was alive, though Emma says she appeared to beryllium nether duress and successful pain. To Emma, it was wide her sister was being tortured.

"More importantly, she looked terrified. Terrified. I've ne'er seen her truthful frightened successful my life," Emma recalled. 

"Don't hope. Help."

In precocious 2023 and into the pursuing year, Emma continued to lobby State Department officials successful the Biden administration, urging them to unit the Iraqi authorities — heavy babelike connected U.S. assistance — to assistance find Elizabeth and negociate her release. But she says fewer successful the State Department would conscionable with her oregon adjacent instrumentality her calls.

"I would often hear, 'Oh. We consciousness —  we consciousness for you. This is terrible. We cognize your sister. She is truthful brilliant. We truly anticipation that she comes retired of captivity.' But what bash you mean we hope? Don't hope. Help," Emma said. 

Fighting for her sister, Emma says, brought retired a fearlessness she didn't cognize she had.

In April 2024, erstwhile the Iraqi premier curate visited Washington, Emma was determination too. This time, she said she decided it was "time for immoderate guerilla tactics."

Emma and others projected laser messages onto the Willard Hotel, wherever the Iraqi delegation was staying. At a aboriginal event, Emma stood successful the backmost of the country and addressed the premier curate directly.

"My sister's been held hostage for 13 months, and you don't care. You should beryllium ashamed of yourself. You're not doing thing to assistance her. She's guiltless — and you cognize it," she shouted. Yet, her sister remained successful captivity.

The bold determination that helped bring Elizabeth Tsurkov home

In November 2024, aft President Trump's re-election, Emma got the telephone fig of peculiar envoy for hostage effect Adam Boehler, who lives successful Nashville wherever helium runs a healthcare concern firm. 

"I deliberation she was amazed that I picked up and past I deliberation she didn't cognize what to do," Boehler told "CBS Sunday Morning." After proceeding her sister's harrowing story, Boehler promised to help. 

After months passed, Emma made a bold move: she flew to Nashville and showed up astatine Boehler's doorstep, crashing a Mother's Day brunch helium was hosting.

"I apologized for the rudeness, but I mean it got my sister home," Emma said.

On September 9, 2025, Boehler called to accidental that Elizabeth was yet successful the custody of U.S. officials. Elizabeth was past capable to talk with Emma by phone, wherever the 2 tearfully exchanged their shared nickname for each other, "Fefa."

"We're conscionable crying hysterically and conscionable afloat of joy. It was conscionable similar truthful — specified an amazing, amazing, astonishing joyful moment," Emma said.

Boehler declined to accidental what yet convinced the militia to merchandise her, lone noting that helium and others made wide to the Iraqi authorities that Elizabeth was a priority.

"Whether radical are captious of the president oregon not, everyone tin agree, I think, the president's not acrophobic to instrumentality action," Boehler said. 

But Elizabeth paid a steep terms with her health. As her sister feared, erstwhile her captors learned she was Israeli, she was subjected to torture and falsely accused of being a spy.

Elizabeth recalled 1 method of maltreatment successful particular: "It's called the scorpion successful Iraq. They would handcuff maine down my backmost and fundamentally enactment a hook successful the handcuffs and rise me." She's inactive successful specified symptom that erstwhile she was acceptable to stock her communicative publically she was incapable to beryllium successful a seat for an interview.

Yet somehow, Elizabeth survived. She says she endured by continuing the enactment that brought her to Iraq successful the archetypal spot — her research.

Five months aft her release, Elizabeth yet got to conscionable the antheral who helped marque it happen.

"It's hard to explicate however you look astatine a idiosyncratic who gave you life, but he's not your parent, you know?" Elizabeth said of gathering Boehler, adding that she cried for much than 2 hours during their meeting.

Boehler keeps a imperishable grounds of the fig of hostages successful tattoos connected his arm, including the Israelis held by Hamas, that helium says person been released successful the past year.

"It matters a batch to me. I deliberation of each one," helium said.

Today, Elizabeth is doing rehab for her injuries and plans to instrumentality to her studies astatine Princeton.

"So galore of the policies of the United States and Israel and different countries are based connected the faulty knowing of world connected the ground. I don't expect you cognize to alteration the satellite for my research, but if I tin adjacent change argumentation successful a tiny way, that would payment millions of people," Elizabeth said. "I was deprived of my dependable for 903 days. Now free, you know, I tin talk up."

In:

• Iraq
• Kidnapping