Akademiernas kommitté för mänskliga rättigheter har i ett öppet brev vädjat till Iraks premiärminister om att säkra frigivningen av Elizabeth Tsurkov, en doktorand vid Princeton University som kidnappades i Irak för nästan två år sedan.
Tsurkov bedrev fältarbete för sin doktorsavhandling i Irak då hon fördes bort, enligt uppgift kidnappad av gruppen Kataib Hezbollah. Hennes familj har sedan dess inte haft någon kontakt med henne, och de saknar information om hennes hälsa och situation.
I brevet uttrycker kommittén stor oro över Tsurkovs öde och uppmanar Iraks regering att intensifiera sina ansträngningar för att säkra hennes frigivning och offentliggöra resultaten från den utredning som enligt uppgift inleddes 2023.
Brevet i sin helhet:
Stockholm 3 April 2025
Your Excellency,
We, the Human Rights Committee of Sweden’s Scientific and Literary Academies, write to respectfully request your urgent assistance with the dire situation of Elizabeth Tsurkov, a U.S.-based doctoral student at Princeton University who was kidnapped nearly two years ago and remains in captivity.
As scholars and researchers, we are deeply concerned that Ms. Tsurkov is believed to have been abducted by Kataib Hezbollah while carrying out scientific research in Iraq for her dissertation, just days after undergoing emergency spinal surgery. Our concern for her safety is heightened because her family has had no communication with her captors throughout her prolonged captivity and thus has no information about her conditions of confinement and well-being.
We understand that your government announced in mid-2023 that it was undertaking an investigation into Ms. Tsurkov’s kidnapping but that to date no information has been made available to her family or the public. We are also aware that your government has indicated Iraq’s commitment to efforts to secure her release. In light of the above, we respectfully request that you redouble your efforts to bring about her release and safe return to the United States. In the interim, we ask that you use your good offices to ensure that the findings of the investigation, as well as the steps that your government has taken thus far to secure Ms. Tsurkov’s release, are made public.
Thank you in advance, Your Excellency, for your attention to this matter of utmost importance.
Respectfully yours,
Stefan Svallfors
Professor, Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of Sweden’s Scientific and Literary Academies
Akademiernas kommitté för mänskliga rättigheter består av representanter från Kungl. Vetenskapsakademien, Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien, Svenska Akademien och Sveriges unga akademi.
