U.S. senators ask Biden administration to push for release of Princeton grad student held by Iran-backed militia

Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker conveyed their “grave concern” about Elizabeth Tsurkov’s plight

Published September 20, 2023 • Updated on September 20, 2023 at 8:42 pm

Members of the Palestinian Prisoners Committee hold a rally outside the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Gaza City on July 17, 2023, demanding the Iraqi government to include Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails in the exchange for Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov. — Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Two U.S. senators are urging the Biden administration to appeal to the Iraqi government to help secure the release of a Princeton University graduate student believed to have been abducted by an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq six months ago.

In a letter obtained by NBC News, Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, who both represent New Jersey, home to Princeton, conveyed their “grave concern” about Elizabeth Tsurkov’s plight in their appeal to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

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They called on the administration “to use our close and abiding relationship with Iraq to raise Elizabeth’s abduction and call for her release at every opportunity and level.”

Read the full story on NBC News.com here