Novak Djokovic, the Serbian tennis star, had his visa revoked for a second time by the Australian authorities on Friday and was set to be detained once more on Saturday, the newest dizzying volley in a drawn-out drama over his refusal to be vaccinated for Covid-19.
Australia’s immigration minister, Alex Hawke, stated in a press release that he was canceling Djokovic’s visa on the grounds of “well being and good order,” including that it was within the public curiosity to take action. Djokovic’s legal professionals stated they’d file an attraction instantly, with the Australian Open beginning on Monday and his potential to compete for a males’s report twenty first Grand Slam title more and more in jeopardy.
Hawke took the motion 4 days after Djokovic received a authorized victory that freed him from immigration detention, the place he had been held since arriving at a Melbourne airport final week.
Explaining his resolution to revoke the visa, the minister stated that the Australian authorities was dedicated to defending the nation’s borders throughout the pandemic.
Djokovic’s legal professionals stated at a circuit court docket listening to on Friday night time that they’d problem the choice, and a decide ordered the federal government to not deport him whereas the attraction was being heard.
After that listening to, the case was transferred to a distinct decide, David O’Callaghan of the Federal Court docket of Australia. He’ll preside over a brand new listening to at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday.
Authorized specialists stated Djokovic may need little likelihood of getting the choice overturned, regardless of profitable his first spherical in court docket earlier this week on slim procedural grounds.
Mary Crock, a regulation professor on the College of Sydney, stated it might be “very, very exhausting” for Djokovic to win any attraction. “The foundations of pure justice and process don’t apply,” she stated. So the one method he would possibly reach an attraction could be to show there isn’t any public-interest foundation on which the visa may have been canceled.
A federal investigation led by Hawke had revealed that Djokovic supplied false data on the paperwork he gave to frame officers when he tried to enter Australia final week.
These paperwork didn’t state that Djokovic, who lives in Monte Carlo, had traveled between Serbia and Spain throughout the 14 days forward of his arrival in Australia.
In a publish on social media on Wednesday, Djokovic acknowledged the misstatements and addressed questions on his actions within the days earlier than and after his constructive check for the coronavirus on Dec. 16. That check consequence had allowed him to achieve an exemption from state well being officers in Victoria to play within the Australian Open, the place he’s the defending champion, regardless of being unvaccinated.
“I simply wish to have the chance to compete towards the most effective gamers on the planet and carry out earlier than probably the greatest crowds on the planet,” Djokovic stated within the publish.
Djokovic arrived in Australia late on Jan. 5, however hours later, and after an airport interview, border officers canceled his visa, saying he remained topic to a requirement that everybody getting into the nation be absolutely vaccinated. He spent 5 days at a lodge for refugees and asylum seekers, till a decide on Monday discovered that he had been handled unfairly, and ordered Djokovic launched together with his visa restored.
The court docket ruling didn’t put an finish to the case, however somewhat shifted its focus to Djokovic’s supporting paperwork, the legitimacy of his coronavirus check and primary questions on what Djokovic knew about his prognosis and when he knew it.
Legally, Hawke, the immigration minister, can cancel a visa on character grounds or if he finds data to be false, or if he believes the visa’s recipient poses a well being or security danger. Hawke made his resolution as Australia is within the midst of its worst bout with the coronavirus.
Mike Ives and Matthew Futterman contributed reporting.
