Melbourne:
World number one Tennis player Novak Djokovic is currently staying in the immigration detention centre after his visa was cancelled. Serbia’s foreign secretary Nemanja Starovic has demanded Australia to move Djokovic to a nicer hotel.
Why is Djokovic staying in detention?
The Serbian star had pulled off the ATP Cup last month as he refused to clarify whether he is vaccinated against COVID-19 or not. He has cited that this is personal information and it should not be mandatory to disclose the vaccination status as mandated by the organisers in Australia.
After pulling out ATP, Djokovic has announced that he will be participating in the Australian Open as he has taken a “vaccination exemption” that will enable him to play the tournament without disclosing the status.
The particular vaccine exemption created a huge controversy, and it received backlash from the Australian public. Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday said Djokovic is no special case and the same rules as everyone will apply to him.
Consequently, the tennis great had to spend many hours in immigration detention as his visa was cancelled by the Australian government.
Novak Djokovic mounted a legal challenge
Djokovic had decided to mount a legal challenge to his visa cancellation by Australia. He decided to fight it out after he had to spend eight hours in detention at Melbourne Airport, where he unsuccessfully pleaded his case to border officials. Djokovic won his court bid on Thursday and as a result, there was no immediate deportation, allowing the defending Australian Open champion to stay in Melbourne until at least Monday. But he was forced to stay in the detention centre.
What is the Serbian government demanding?
Serbia’s foreign secretary Nemanja Starovic has asked Australia to stop treating him like a criminal and move him to a nicer hotel.
This demand came after Acting Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan revealed that Tennis Australia did not inform her government about Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government letters which stated that a prior COVID infection – the basis for Djokovic’s exemption for COVID-19 vaccination – would not be accepted as a genuine exemption.
“We expect that the ambassador personally takes action for him to be moved to accommodation befitting the best sportsman in the world, not a criminal or an illegal immigrant,” Starovic said in the statement, as reported by Sydney Morning Herald.
Starovic has also said that the Serbian public believes that Djokovic has become the victim of political games in Australia.
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