Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic on Saturday, January 15, was detained by Australian border authorities and again placed in custody in accordance with a ruling made at an emergency hearing in federal district and family court. This is reported by the television company CNN.
The move follows a decision by Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to re-revoke the 34-year-old Serb’s visa.
Djokovic is accused of providing false information, in particular that he did not travel within 14 days before arriving in the country.
Lawyers for Djokovic filed an appeal, the case will be heard on Saturday in the country’s federal court. If he refuses, Djokovic could be deported and banned from entering Australia for three years.
Documents from the federal circuit court in Melbourne, handed over by Hawke, noted that the presence of an athlete in the country would pose a “threat to both public health and public order”, since Djokovic has repeatedly “publicly declared his unwillingness to be vaccinated and showed obvious disregard for basic rules of conduct (during the COVID-19 pandemic. – Ed.), such as isolation after a positive test result.
“Given Novak Djokovic’s high status and position, and his role as a role model in the sporting and wider community, his continued presence in Australia could help spread similar behavior. in the country,” The Age quotes the minister.
He also stressed that the presence of Djokovic in Australia could lead to “increasing the influence of anti-vaccination groups” and, accordingly, provoke “civil unrest and unrest.”
Australian authorities canceled Djokovic’s visa on January 5 due to an error in the entry request. The athlete flew to participate in the Australian Open Grand Slam tournament. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison pointed out that the country has equal and undeniable rules for entry.
A 34-year-old Serb tried to enter Australia without being vaccinated with a medical exemption from coronavirus vaccination. The border service considered the data provided insufficient.
Djokovic was held in an immigration detention facility in Melbourne for several days after his visa was cancelled. The athlete was released on January 10 by a court decision, which considered the cancellation of the visa unreasonable.
The tennis player himself said on January 12 that the human factor caused an error in his documents. According to him, the “no” checkbox was erroneously ticked in response to the question whether he had traveled to other countries in the 14 days before arriving in Australia.
However, providing false or misleading information in official form is an offense in Australia, which carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison and a fine of up to 6.6 thousand Australian dollars ($4730), and can also lead to cancellation of the violator’s visa.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
