As Jewish people prepare to celebrate the first night of Passover, some plan to leave a seat open at their Seders – the meal commemorating the biblical story of Israelites' freedom from slavery – for a Wall Street Journal reporter recently jailed in Russia.
Agents from Russia's Federal Security Service arrested Evan Gershkovich a week ago in the Ural mountain city of Yekaterinburg and have accused him of espionage. The Wall Street Journal denies that allegation, and on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had "no doubt" that Gershkovich was wrongfully detained. This is the first time Moscow has detained a journalist from the US on espionage accusations since the Cold War.
