Surviving 2½ Years: Israeli‑Russian Researcher Recounts Brutal Torture and Release from Iraqi Captivity

Ta’aliq — Arabic for “to hang” — is Iraqi slang for a torture method that suspends victims by cuffing their hands above their heads. Akrab, or “scorpion,” is a harsher variant in which the hands are forced together behind the back. Elizabeth Tsurkov says she endured both, along with prolonged physical and sexual abuse, during two and a half years held captive in Iraq by an Iranian‑backed militia.

Abduction and early abuse

The 38‑year‑old Israeli‑Russian Princeton doctoral student, fluent in Arabic and an experienced Middle East researcher, was conducting fieldwork on sociopolitical movements in Iraq in March 2023 when she says she was shoved into an SUV, blindfolded, sexually assaulted, beaten and taken to a detention site on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Her September release was publicly announced by President Donald Trump. She is recuperating in Israel as Iraqis head to parliamentary elections that include candidates linked to the militia she says abducted her, Kataib Hezbollah.

Precautions and capture

Israel bars its citizens from traveling to Iraq, which it designates an “enemy country.” Tsurkov told reporters she tried to reduce risk by entering Iraq on her Russian passport and avoiding militia contacts, but she said Kataib Hezbollah’s reach into activist circles in Baghdad was broader than she expected.

Ransom demand and escalation of torture

Tsurkov said her captors initially appeared to believe she was a foreign national and sought a large ransom; Israeli officials told her the opening demand was $600 million. About a month into captivity, interrogators found Hebrew messages and other indications on her phone that she was Israeli, she said. That discovery, she said, prompted intensified torture and accusations of espionage.

“The torture was incredibly brutal,”

Tsurkov said, now recovering at a friend’s home near Tel Aviv. She described being electrocuted, repeatedly touched inappropriately, and forced into painful positions that aggravated a recent back operation — she had back surgery eight days before her abduction. Her captors used a plastic whip on her feet because injuries there heal more slowly and threatened her with a firearm marked as property of Iraqi security services. She said she sometimes prayed to pass out to end the sessions.

Change in conditions and diminished hopes

After about four and a half months she was moved to a site she believes was a Kataib Hezbollah base near the Iranian border, where the physical abuse largely stopped. She was kept in solitary confinement in a windowless cell but received adequate food, water and eventually a television. Her hopes of a quick release dimmed after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas‑led attack, when her case became one among hundreds of hostages of concern to Israel.

Longer‑term consequences

The torture has likely caused permanent nerve damage. Between medical appointments and physical therapy, she spends much of her time reclining and shifting positions to manage pain. The memories remain vivid: blood spattered on walls and frantic scrawls from previous captives. Tsurkov said survivors inside Iraq rarely speak out for fear of endangering themselves or family members, which makes her account unusual and newsworthy.

Who held her and why it matters

Tsurkov and others describe Kataib Hezbollah as an Iranian‑backed militia that is officially part of Iraq’s armed forces but often operates autonomously. The group has been listed by the U.S. as a terrorist organization since 2009. Tsurkov noted the militia’s resources — the luxury cars used to transport captives had plush leather seats and a new‑car scent — underscoring outside support and funding.

Family background and campaign for release

Born in Russia and raised in Israel from around age four, Tsurkov comes from a family with a history of political imprisonment: her mother spent three years behind bars and her father seven years plus two years of hard labor in Siberia for opposing the Soviet regime. Her family mounted a public campaign for her release, focused largely on U.S. channels; her sister is married to a U.S. citizen. An Israeli official, speaking anonymously, said Israel devoted substantial resources to securing her freedom. The Russian Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Diplomacy, intermediaries and release

Tsurkov said she does not believe her release was part of a prisoner exchange. She credits sustained pressure from Adam Boehler, the Trump administration’s special envoy for hostage affairs, plus the involvement of Iraqi‑American businessman Mark Savaya. Tsurkov said Savaya warned Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al‑Sudani that failure to secure her handover might trigger a U.S. strike on Kataib Hezbollah; Savaya was later named U.S. special envoy for Iraq.

Her release occurred amid intense regional fighting in which Israel struck many Iran‑backed proxies and the wider conflict produced powerful explosions that she said she could feel while detained near the border. About a week after the reported diplomatic efforts, she was brought to Baghdad and handed over to an Iraqi security official in a nondescript garage. At the U.S. Embassy she video‑called her family before returning to Israel.

Rebuilding life and work

Before her abduction, Tsurkov was frequently cited in Israeli media for her analysis of the Syrian civil war; she had traveled to Syria twice and has tattoos expressing support for Syrian independence, details she said angered her captors. She has also voiced criticism of the Israeli government and support for Palestinians, drawing online vitriol since her return.

Now recovering physically and emotionally, Tsurkov plans to complete her doctorate at Princeton and hopes to resume field research — particularly work that highlights marginalized communities. “It often feels like a nightmare that I woke up from,” she said. “It feels so surreal to have undergone, and overcome, such brutality.”

Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Seung Min Kim in Washington and Qassim Abdul‑Zahra in Baghdad contributed.