Newshour SPECIAL EPISODE: The Elizabeth Tsurkov interview
Dec 9, 2025
Elizabeth Tsurkov, a doctoral student and researcher on Iraqi politics, shares her harrowing tale after being held captive for two and a half years. She recounts the brutal torture she endured, including electrocution and starvation, while revealing her strategies to protect innocent Iraqis. Now recuperating in Israel, she discusses her ongoing research on the Sadr movement and the power of militias in Iraq, emphasizing how corruption perpetuates their influence. Tsurkov's resilience shines through as she navigates her recovery and continues her academic work.
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Kidnapped After A Fake Research Meeting
- Elizabeth Tsurkov was lured to a cafe and then kidnapped on the street in Baghdad after a staged meeting request.
- Captors beat and sexually assaulted her in the abduction before taking her to an outskirts detention site where she remained for months.
Discovery Of Identity Triggered Escalated Torture
- After a month of starvation and interrogation, her captors discovered her Israeli identity via her phone.
- Once they knew she was Israeli they escalated to systematic torture aimed at forcing confessions and names of Iraqis.
Brutal Methods And Long-Term Physical Damage
- Torture included electrocutions, beatings, whipping and methods like hanging with hands behind the back and the 'scorpion' position.
- She also suffered constant sexual threats, filthy verbal abuse, painful positions and shoulder/spine injuries that later required surgery.
