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Vina Nadjibulla (Photograph by Eric Putz)
Michael Kovrig walks at least 7,000 steps a day in laps of his cell, along with doing push-ups and planks and practising yoga and meditation. Among his few possessions are a grey uniform, a bar of soap, two Hello Kitty washcloths and a small set of matching plastic cups and bowls. He can read a limited number of books his family sends, but he is allotted only a few hours each month with a pen and paper to write letters and process his thoughts. The world beyond the prison gates ground to a halt over the last year because of the pandemic, but Kovrig, cut off in his own state of suspended animation, was oblivious to it all.
Lauren Krugel
Rev. Gerry Michalski at Soul Sanctuary, left, in Winnipeg is photographed with Julia and Kevin Garratt prior to their recording of their Blue Christmas service Saturday, December 12, 2020. The Garratts spent thirty years working in China on humanitarian and social projects until one day they were taken into custody and spent the following two years in a Chinese prison. Blue Christmas services are subdued, low key services for those struggling with grief during the holidays, and this year they re being held online due to the pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods December 13, 2020 - 7:00 AM
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, people would trickle into a dim and quiet Winnipeg church on one of the longest nights of the year to lament their losses by lighting candles, praying together and sometimes writing out their feelings and shredding the paper.
Blue Christmas services go virtual winnipegfreepress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from winnipegfreepress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Detention of Canadians Kovrig and Spavor Reaches Two Year Mark
Posted by Joseph Brouwer | Dec 10, 2020
December 10, 2020 marks both international Human Rights Day and the two year anniversary of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig’s detentions in China. The two Canadians were seized by Chinese police ten days after Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver. She is currently under house arrest in Canada while undergoing extradition proceedings to the United States on fraud charges related to Huawei’s business with Iran. It is widely believed that Spavor and Kovrig were taken as hostages to facilitate Meng’s release. At The New York Times, Javier C. Hernández and Dan Bilefsky reported on