SYDNEY | Australian authorities intend to order the return of world tennis number one Novak Djokovic from detention as early as Saturday morning, government lawyer Stephen Lloyd announced on Friday.
• Read also: Australia says it remains firm on its anti-Covid rules, decision on Djokovic is overdue
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The government wants the Serb to be released from detention only to attend, in the offices of his lawyers and under the surveillance of border police officers, the online court hearings concerning his case, Lloyd said. .
Djokovic will not be deported from Australia until justice is final, Mr Lloyd had previously assured during a hearing before a judge in Melbourne.
This Victoria State judge, Anthony Kelly, announced on Friday that he was stepping down in favor of Australian federal justice, despite objections from the player’s lawyers who said they feared a slowdown in the proceedings.
Judge Kelly was seized by Djokovic’s lawyers with a view to blocking the cancellation of the player’s visa, decided for the second time by the Australian Minister for Immigration on Friday.
Djokovic admitted to having incorrectly completed his declaration of entry into Australia, and not having followed the isolation rules after testing positive for Covid-19 in December – contamination he hoped would allow him to benefit an exemption to enter Australia without being vaccinated.
“Nole” had been turned away on his arrival in Melbourne on January 5 and placed in a detention center. But his lawyers had obtained from Judge Kelly on January 10 that he reinstate his visa and order his immediate release.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, making use of his discretionary power in the matter, however canceled Djokovic’s visa once again on Friday “on grounds of health and public order”.
The 34-year-old was planning to run for a 10e title at the Australian Open, which starts on Monday, and a 21e Grand Slam victory, which would be a record.
“Nole” had already seen his visa canceled on his arrival in Melbourne on January 5 and he had been placed in a detention center. But his lawyers won a resounding victory on January 10, getting a judge to reinstate his visa and order his immediate release.
Djokovic admitted to incorrectly completing his entry declaration for Australia, and failing to follow isolation rules after testing positive for C0VID-19 in December – contamination he hoped would allow him to benefit an exemption to enter Australia without being vaccinated.
On Thursday, the Australian Open included Djokovic in the tournament table and the draw was awarded to Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, 78e world, as opponent in the first round.
But the world No.1 was still under threat of deportation in the name of the discretionary power of the Minister of Immigration, finally employed Friday after a five-day suspense.
Dreams of a 10e title in Melbourne are moving away, especially since this cancellation implies that Djokovic will be banned from entering the country for three years, except in certain exceptional circumstances.
This saga around the tennis champion carries a very strong political charge in Australia, whose inhabitants have endured some of the strictest anti-Covid restrictions in the world for almost two years, and where elections are scheduled by May.
“Its own rules”
While the government’s decision was delayed, pressure mounted around Prime Minister Scott Morrison, accused of “incompetence” by Labor opposition leader Kristina Keneally, noting that the Serb had obtained his 58-day visa. earlier.
“The Morrison government is simply incompetent. It’s a joke, ”she tweeted.
Some tennis players argued for Djokovic to participate in the Open, but others were much more critical.
Novak Djokovic “played by his own rules” by choosing not to be vaccinated before the Australian Open and “made the majority of players look like idiots”, estimated Thursday the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, world No.4 , in an interview with Indian media WION.
“It takes a lot of nerve to do it and it puts the whole tournament at risk … I don’t think a lot of players would do that,” he added.
As the Omicron variant spreads in Australia, Djokovic’s behavior after he tested positive for coronavirus in Serbia on December 16 has come under close scrutiny.
The player notably took part in public events, without a mask, on December 16 and 17 in Belgrade, but claimed that he did not yet know he was positive at that time.
In a long message published on Instagram on Wednesday, he however recognized an “error in judgment” for having received, knowing that he was asymptomatic, the French daily The team for an interview on December 18.
Djokovic also pleaded “human error” to explain how a wrong box in his entry form to Australia was checked.
This document shows that he has attested not to have traveled in the 14 days preceding his arrival. However, he was in Serbia and then in Spain.