'We're gonna get you home': Michael Kovrig's former bandmates strike a chord for his freedom
Share
TORONTO -
A musical campaign for former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig’s release from a Chinese prison is gaining support.
Long before Kovrig went into the diplomatic service, he was the frontman for the Budapest-based band named Bankrupt, who recently released a song called "The Plane to Toronto" to raise awareness about his plight.
“We wanted to capture this moment when he’s finally free and heading home to Toronto on the plane,” Balazs Sarkadi, the band’s singer and bass player, told CTV News on Wednesday.
Kovrig was arrested in China along with Canadian Michael Spavor in December 2018. Both men were charged with espionage and put on trial this year.
Concerned about the potential outcome of the trial and his years of imprisonment, the band wants to try and garner more support to help get Kovrig released by crowdsourcing a video to go with the song.
“We really wanted some positive sense and positive energy to get people to show some solidarity towards him,” Sarkadi said.
“Hold on, please, we’re gonna get you home,” he sings in the catchy pop song. “It’s been a long time, but you’ve never been alone. You’ve gotta know bad times won’t last forever. In no time, I know, you’ll be on the plane to Toronto.”
Response to the song has been good, Sarkadi said Thursday. And the band hopes to release the video in the coming weeks.
Sept. 4 will mark the 1,000-day anniversary of Kovrig’s imprisonment.
His arrest came shortly after Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Shenzhen, China-based Huawei, was detained in Vancouver on a U.S. Justice Department request in December 2018.
Meng is wanted on allegations that she misled The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) about Huawei's relationship with another company, putting the bank at risk of violating American sanctions against Iran. The final weeks of the U.S. extradition hearings are now underway in Vancouver. Huawei and Meng, who is free to move about while under house arrest in her mansion in the city, deny any wrongdoing.
In the meantime, Kovrig, who faces a possible life sentence, remains in prison.
Sarkadi said he was shocked when he found out Kovrig, who played with the band from 1996 to 1999, was arrested.
The friends kept in touch over the years while Kovrig studied, became a diplomat and then went on to work with the International Crisis Group, with whom he was working when he was arrested in Beijing.
In fact, Kovrig visited Budapest in 2017, and even joined his former bandmates on stage for a song.
“It was a very nice reunion,” Sarkadi said. “He’s a really cool guy, doing everyday stuff.”
But Sarkadi misses his friend and wants people to try and encourage the government to help Kovrig.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau was not available to comment on the matter on Thursday.
Grantly Franklin, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said the release of Kovrig and Spavor remains a priority.
“We have always been very clear that Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor are being unjustly and arbitrarily detained,” Franklin said. “We continue to call on China to immediately release both men. Canada continues to provide consular support to Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor and their families during this unacceptable ordeal.”
Vina Nadjibulla, Kovrig’s wife, said she’s grateful for the band’s initiative.
“Michael loves music,” she said. “It's been a big part of his life and he continues to rely on song lyrics as part of his resilience routine even now.
“But as important as solidarity efforts are, our main focus must remain on actions that will lead to his liberation and calling on the Canadian government, in particular, to do everything possible to bring him home.”
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue released her interim report examining foreign election interference on Friday. Here are five elements of the issue that Hogue says she needs to further probe before she can make conclusions or recommendations.
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
A Manitoba man who pleaded guilty to keeping the funds raised from an ice-fishing fundraiser for the Children's Hospital Foundation of Manitoba has been handed a sentence of 18 months house arrest.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
A California man has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for attempting to smuggle a ghost gun across the Canadian border last year, authorities announced Friday.
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
A gallery on the fifth floor of the National Music Centre (NMC) has been transformed into a Holocaust memorial with the exhibition called Violins of Hope.
Photographers will tell you that one of the best times to capture incredible images is just after sunrise or right before sunset. That time is known as the golden hour. It's the light that starts each day, offering hope and wonder about the day ahead. Griffin Bell exemplified that hope and light in a way that few others ever will.
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
A Quebec judge overseeing the trial of a person accused of killing a cyclist with their car has raised concerns that an amendment to the province's language charter could cause 'undue delays' for trials held in English.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
The six Wolastoqey Nation chiefs in New Brunswick are calling for more collaborative policing and help from federal and provincial governments after the loss of one of their own.
Fishery officers seized nearly 30 kilograms of elvers at a Yarmouth County, N.S., holding facility on Wednesday, arresting three people in the process.
A Manitoba man who pleaded guilty to keeping the funds raised from an ice-fishing fundraiser for the Children's Hospital Foundation of Manitoba has been handed a sentence of 18 months house arrest.
The North Central Family Centre (NCFC) has launched a capital campaign to help aid in the completion of a major project they are in the midst of building.
More than 100 teachers at the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) are learning they have been declared surplus will likely be out of a job as of Aug. 12.
Kaitlyn Braun, the Brantford, Ont. woman who previously admitted to deceiving doulas and is facing similar charges again, is not seeking bail at this time, her lawyer said Friday.
The jury deciding the fate of a man responsible for a fatal firebombing in Sudbury found him guilty of three counts of first-degree murder Friday afternoon.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
A family claims it’s concerned for their loved one in a Nanaimo-based long-term care facility as they work with staff and Island Health to resolve some of their complaints.
The first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel for Canada's Pacific fleet will officially be commissioned in a ceremony featuring Princess Anne, the sister of King Charles.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Search and rescue crews have been called in after a vehicle belonging to a missing senior was located near a rural intersection outside of Kelowna Tuesday.
The bell at Erle Rivers High School in Milk River, Alta., will ring for the last time on June 26, as the 114-year-old school is scheduled to be torn down to make way for a new K-12 school.
Phase 1 of the reconstruction of Queen Street in downtown Sault Ste. Marie is getting underway, although it will be scaled down from the original plan.
Richard Martin is spending this year's fishing season on land after he says a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer broke his left leg in three places during a protest last month that shut down the provincial legislature.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Foreign interference by China did not affect the overall results of the 2019 and 2021 general elections won by Justin Trudeau's Liberals, a federal commission of inquiry has found.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue released her interim report examining foreign election interference on Friday. Here are five elements of the issue that Hogue says she needs to further probe before she can make conclusions or recommendations.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Google's preeminence as an internet search engine is an illegal monopoly propped up by more than US$20 billion spent each year by the tech giant to lock out competition, U.S. Justice Department lawyers argued at the closings of a high-stakes antitrust lawsuit.
Many species of animals form social groups and behave collectively: An elephant herd follows its matriarch, flocking birds fly in unison, humans gather at concert events. Even humble fruit flies organize themselves into regularly spaced clusters, researchers have found.
China on Friday launched a lunar probe to land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights into differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Ontario is set to clamp down on bad employers with big fines. Labour Minister David Piccini says his government will introduce legislation next week that will see fines increased for violations of the Employment Standards Act.
Italy's Ministry of Health has banned the popular wellness trend of "puppy yoga" amid concerns that the puppies used in the practice could be exploited and mistreated.
A Montreal astrologer and horoscope writer just got a boost on his retirement budget, after winning Loto-Quebec’s Grande-Vie prize, which comes in the form of $1,000 a day for life.
Rick Bowness of the Winnipeg Jets, Rick Tocchet of the Vancouver Canucks and Andrew Brunette of the Nashville Predators are the finalists for this season's Jack Adams Award.
Drivers in Saskatchewan will now lose their licence for a week and their vehicle for a month if they are caught committing certain high-speed and dangerous offences on the road.
Rolls-Royce is vastly expanding its factory in Chichester, England. The BMW subsidiary is adding five new buildings with construction planned to start next year.