An Australian court on Monday ordered the release of the number one tennis player, Serbian Novak Djokovic, who had been held since last Thursday in a hotel in the city of Melbourne following the revocation of his visa for not being vaccinated once morest covid-19.
Judge Anthony Kelly of the Melbourne Federal Circuit Court ordered the Australian government to implement the release as soon as possible, hand over his passport and personal effects, and pay the legal costs.
The court decision would allow Djokovic to participate in the Australian Open, which if he won would become his tenth title of that tournament and his twenty-first Grand Slam and thus surpass his rivals Roger Federer of Switzerland and Rafael Nadal of Spain.
In the virtual hearing on Monday, the Australian government agreed to reverse its decision to cancel the visa, although lawyer Christopher Tran said that the Minister of Immigration, Alex Hawke, is considering the possibility of using his special powers to deport Djokovic .
This potential gesture by Scott Morrison’s Executive, who is seeking re-election this year, would be “very worrying,” Judge Kelly said when weighing the potential consequences.
The Australian government had detained the 34-year-old Serbian tennis player in a Melbourne hotel last Thursday following canceling his visa by rejecting the medical exemption he had obtained to try to win his tenth title at the Australian Open without being vaccinated.
During the anticipated virtual hearing, which began late due to technical problems, Djokovic’s lawyers alleged that the player followed all the immigration steps he believed necessary to enter Australia.
The Australian government requires travelers to have the complete schedule of the covid-19 vaccine or a valid medical exemption to enter the country.
Last Saturday, Czech tennis player Renata Vorácová, who was arrested following Australian authorities canceled her visa following entering with an exemption similar to Djokovic’s, left the country.
Australia is experiencing its worst wave of covid-19 these days; This Monday reached a million accumulated infections since the beginning of the pandemic, almost half of them registered since the beginning of the year due to the strong impact of the omicron variant.
