14 Jan. 2022 08:04 o’clock
Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has again declared the visa for tennis professional Novak Đoković invalid. It is still unclear whether Đoković will appeal against Friday’s decision and possibly still be able to participate in the Australian Open.
Novak Đoković is threatened with deportation from Australia because Immigration Minister Alex Hawke intervened personally and canceled the Serbian tennis star’s visa. On Friday, Hawke said in a statement:
“I used my authority under Section 133C (3) of the Migration Act today to cancel Novak Đoković’s visa on the grounds of health and good order, on the basis that this decision is in the public interest.”
BREAKING:Alex Hawke, the Australian Minister for Immigration, has cancelled Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa “on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so.”This is effectively a re-deportation order for the unvaccinated nine-time #AusOpen champion. pic.twitter.com/2P611AbUiw
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 14, 2022
Hawke stepped in after a federal court in Melbourne overturned the original decision to cancel Đoković’s visa. The 34-year-old Serb had his visa revoked at the Australian border when he tried to enter the country last week.
Đoković, who is not vaccinated, received a medical exemption from Tennis Australia and the Victoria State authorities to participate in the Australian Open. According to the documents submitted to the court, the 34-year-old survived a corona infection in December. However, the federal officials at the airport did not consider this to be sufficient to allow him to enter the country. After several hours at the airport, Đoković finally came to a deportation hotel in Melbourne, where he was detained for several days before the judge released him on Monday.
The Serb is a nine-time Australian Open winner and was included in the draw for this year’s tournament on Thursday despite ongoing uncertainty about his fate.
According to reports in the Australian media, Đoković’s legal team has already announced that they will take legal action against the divorce.
Hawke’s statement goes on to say:
“In making this decision, I carefully checked the information provided by the Ministry of the Interior, the Australian Border Guard and Mr. Đoković.”
As Australian media further report, the tennis professional is again threatened with being relocated to a deportation facility.
More information soon.
