The lawyers of “Djoko”, held for five days in a center for migrants in Melbourne, try to convince the federal court that the 34-year-old player contracted the Covid in December, which would exempt him from a compulsory vaccination to enter on the territory.
In a hearing that AFP was able to follow online, Federal Judge Anthony Kelly appeared to be defending the 34-year-old, which does not, however, prejudge his final decision as Australia’s lawyers must also present their arguments.
“What more might this man have done?” Asked the judge.
Recognizing to be a little “nervous”, the magistrate considered that the Serb provided evidence, emanating from “a professor and an eminently qualified doctor” concerning his request for medical exemption.
The hearing was opened late following a computer problem caused by too many connections to attend its retransmission online.
Antivaxes shared, despite a ban, the link to follow it by broadcasting it live on YouTube.
The judge finally continued the hearing without a public live broadcast, before a restricted access, which AFP was able to benefit from, was granted.
“Completely confused”
According to the sportsman’s lawyers, the player was “completely confused” when he was heard for several hours on the night of January 5 to 6 at Melbourne airport. They argued in particular that he was deprived of means of communication with his entourage during his interrogation.
The Australian Open, where Djokovic aims to afford a 21st Grand Slam tournament that would place him at the top of tennis history, ahead of his two historic rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, begins in seven days and his participation depends entirely on Mr. Kelly’s decision.
His lawyers say he tested positive for Covid-19 on December 16. However, he attended the next day in Belgrade, without a mask, a ceremony in honor of young Serbian players.
Djokovic, now mocked by the nickname “Novax”, was due to attend the proceedings from the former Park Hotel, a five-story building that accommodates around 32 migrants trapped in Australia’s immigration system, some of them for years.
Djokovic obtained permission from the court to follow Monday’s proceedings from another, undisclosed location before being forced to return to the detention center following the hearings.
According to his lawyers, his request to be transferred to a center where he might train for the Australian Open has gone unheeded.
Present at a rally in Belgrade, Djokovic’s mother, Dijana, lambasted her son’s “inhuman” conditions of detention.
“He is only entitled to one lunch and one dinner, and he has no normal window, he is looking at a wall,” she told regional television, TV N1.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said over the weekend that Serbia fully supported the champion and that she had had “constructive talks” with the Australian Foreign Minister.
“We made sure he got gluten-free food, sports equipment, a laptop,” she told Serbian TV Pink.
Not vaccinated
The Australian tennis federation granted him an exemption, on the grounds of this infection in December, to participate in the first Grand Slam of the season, following his request was approved by two independent medical panels, underlined his lawyers.
But on his arrival in Australia, the federal authorities had refused him entry, considering that his grounds for exemption did not meet the conditions for entry into the territory.
The Australian government insists that a recent infection only counts as an exemption for residents, not foreign nationals trying to enter the country.
Selected as “Djoko” following also having her visa canceled, Czech player Renata Voracova, a doubles specialist, left Australia on Saturday.
Australian federation boss Craig Tiley defended his organization on Monday once morest criticism accusing him of misleading players regarding entry requirements, saying the government “refused” to verify the validity medical exemptions before the arrival of the players.
While much of Australia has tightened health restrictions to fight a new wave linked to the Omicron variant, the state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, recorded 44,155 new cases on Sunday.
