From a Wall Street Journal story by Louise Radnofsky, Warren P. Strobel, and Aruna Viswanatha headlined “Evan Gershkovich’s Arrest Marks a New Era of Hostage Diplomacy”:

More Americans in recent years have been detained by foreign governments on what the U.S. considers to be bogus or politicized charges than have been taken captive by terrorism groups or criminal gangs, according to U.S. authorities and private assessments.

The latest is Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested last week by Russian authorities and charged with espionage. The 31-year-old journalist who had covered the rapidly escalating new era of state hostage-taking has suddenly become the face of it.