If the court rejects its objection to the denied entry to Australia, the time for a start will be short even if there is a possible appeal. The first Grand Slam tournament of the year starts on January 17th.
The lawyers on both sides are fighting hard. The Australian Home Office tried over the weekend to postpone its testimony in court until Wednesday in order to buy more time. The responsible judge Anthony Kelly refused. It remains at the first showdown on Monday. To Djokovic (10:00 a.m. local time or 12:00 a.m. CET) representatives of the Ministry of the Interior (3:00 p.m. local time or 5:00 a.m. CET) should be allowed to make their position clear for up to 120 minutes. When and whether a judgment will be made on Monday remained unclear for the time being.
In any case, both parties can take action against the decision. The Australian authorities have already announced that they will be judged pro Djokovic would not automatically prevent further apprehension of the Serbs. The 34-year-old landed in Melbourne on Wednesday evening, but the border officials withdrew his visa because of allegedly inadequate documents. Since then, the world number one has been stuck in Melbourne in a hotel for people obliged to leave the country.
Positive PCR test before Christmas
Djokovic‘On Saturday, lawyers cited a Covid 19 infection of their client in December as the basis for a special permit to enter and participate in the Australian Open. This was given on December 30th by the medical director of the Australian Tennis Association. But there are several inconsistencies.
The Australian Ministry of the Interior counters, among other things, that only recovered Australians are equated with vaccinated. This regulation does not apply to foreigners. Its supposed to be positive PCR test Djokovic submitted on December 16, according to the 35-page judicial submission of his attorneys. He is said to have been symptom-free.
The question arises, however, why Djokovic has not previously made public that he was infected with the coronavirus for the second time. For the first time, the 20-time Grand Slam tournament winner tested positive during his heavily criticized Adria Tour in June 2020. Back then had Djokovic published the result myself, not this time.
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In addition, photos of Djokovic in the case of appearances for discussions that were recorded on the day of the specified positive PCR test and on the days after: Djokovic at a Serbian Post event where he is holding a stamp with his likeness in the cameras, Djokovic with children and young people in his tennis academy and Djokovic at a photo shoot for the French sports newspaper “L’Equipe” – just two days after the positive corona test that has now been launched and always without masks.
However, the legal situation in Serbia is different than in many other European countries. In theory, a person who tested positive only needs to be quarantined if they have symptoms of illness and a health department explicitly orders this. It is unclear whether and how this is controlled. The question remains, when exactly Djokovic has applied for a special permit. According to the regulations, this had to be available by December 10th. The positive test six days later could not have had any influence on this.
Djokovic is definitely young
from Djokovic there are still no public statements about the affair. On Friday, the Serb spoke briefly on Instagram and thanked his fans for the support. Otherwise, the tennis star does not want to comment because of the ongoing proceedings, it was said from his close environment.
After all, his vaccination status has now been clarified. It appears from the court documents that Djokovic in the questioning by an officer of the Australian border guard stated on his arrival that he was “not vaccinated against Covid-19”. Djokovic had been keeping a secret about his own vaccination status for months.
In front of the hotel in Melbourne’s Carlton district, in which Djokovic It was now the fourth day, some demonstrators gathered again on Sunday to protest against the detention of people in the facility – including those against vaccinations and fans of the tennis star, as well as refugee lawyers. According to their information, 36 refugees are currently being held in the Park Hotel, some of them for up to nine years.
Source: Nachrichten
