Committee of Concerned Scientists

An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

An independent non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

Russian-Israeli Princeton doctoral student still held hostage in Iraq

Elizabeth Tsurkov, a doctoral student, has been missing in Iraq since 2023 after being abducted in Baghdad while conducting research for Princeton University. She is being held by the Kata’ib Hezbollah or Hezbollah Brigades. The Committee is concerned about her condition and asks the Iraqi government to find and release her to the United States as soon as possible.

Times of Israel January 23:
Russian-Israeli academic Elizabeth Tsurkov is believed to be held by Iran-backed militia Kataeb Hezbollah since 2023 abduction; hostage envoys met with her family this month Continue reading

February 3, 2025

Nazar Al Khirullah
Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq
Embassy of the Republic of Iraq
1801 P Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 742-1600

Dear Ambassador Al Khirullah,

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers, and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.

We are writing once again in regard to Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Russian-Israeli doctoral student at Princeton University who has been held hostage in Iraq for two years. She was abducted in Baghdad while conducting research for her doctorate. It appears she is still being held by the Kata’ib Hezbollah or Hezbollah Brigades.

The Committee urges the Iraqi government to take immediate actions directed at finding and releasing Tsurkov. We would also like to remind the government that, as a state party to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, Iraq is obligated to return Tsurkov safely to the United States. Please forward our concerns to President Abdul Latif Rashid.

Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. We will be closely following developments in this case.

Sincerely,

Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

CC:
Ambassador Mohammed Hussein Bahr Al-Uloom
The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Iraq to the United Nations
14 East 79th Street
New York, NY 10075
Phone: (212) 737-4433

Marco Rubio
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520 USA
Phone: (202) 647-4000
Twitter: @marcorubio

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

Myles Axton, Chief Editor, Genetics and Genomics Next

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

David Gross, University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Giorgio Parisi, Roma I University La Sapienza

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, New England Biolabs*

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Former Honorary Board Members

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deseased) Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser (deceased), Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy (deceased), University of Pittsburgh

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

Louis Nirenberg (deceased), New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Myriam Sarachick (deceased), City College of New York

Harold Scheraga (deceased), Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Steven Weinberg (deceased), University of Texas, Austin*

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

Committee of Concerned Scientists

c/o Alexandra R. Bender, Executive Director
P.O. Box 273
Mountainhome, PA 18342
abender@concernedscientists.org