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Tennis star Novak Djokovic detained in Australia for second time and declared a risk to 'civil unrest'

Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts during his Men's Singles Final match against Dominic Thiem of Austria on day fourteen of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park
Novak Djokovic. Getty/Quinn Rooney

  • Novak Djokovic was detained after Australia withdrew his visa a second time. 
  • Australia canceled Djokovic's visa because he posed a health risk and could drum up anti-vax groups.
  • Djokovic's hearing to appeal his deportation is set for Sunday morning. 
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Tennis star Novak Djokovic has been detained in Australia for the second time while he awaits his deportation appeal after Australia's immigration minister Alex Hawke canceled Djokovic's visa because the tennis star posed a health risk and could drum up anti-vax groups in the country, according to court documents.

Djokovic, from Serbia, returned to the immigration detention hotel in Melbourne where he was held earlier this week, reported the BBC.

His lawyers are appealing against what they say is an "irrational" decision, with the hearing set for Sunday morning, the BBC reports. 

The tennis star is scheduled to play at the Australian Open on Monday.

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Should Djokovic lose the appeal, he will face deportation and a three-year visa ban.

Speaking on the detention, immigration Minister Alex Hawke said in a statement.

"Today I exercised my power... to cancel the visa held by Mr. Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so," 

Australia has strict travel rules which state that people traveling to Australia must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. There are exceptions to this rule, but on 14 January, Djokovic had his Australian visa canceled for a second time after failing to provide evidence that those applied to him. 

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Anti-vaccine protesters rally on January 08, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia.
Anti-vaccine protesters rally on January 08, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. Diego Fedele/Getty Images

Australia's immigration minister Alex Hawke said that he canceled Novak Djokovic's visa because the tennis star posed a health risk in the country.

"I consider that Mr. Djokovic's presence may pose a health risk to the Australian community, in that his presence may foster anti-vaccination sentiment," Hawke wrote, Insider's Azmi Haroun reports.

The Guardian reports that Hawke said that Djokovic's presence in Australia could "potentially lead to an increase in civil unrest of the kind previously experienced in Australia with rallies and protests which may themselves be a source of community transmission.

Quoting from documents filed in the court outlining the minister's reasons sent to Djokovic as justification for canceling his visa, Hawkes warned that Djokovic risked becoming a "talisman of anti-vaccination sentiment," reported The Guardian.

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"Having regard to … Mr Djokovic's conduct after receiving a positive Covid-19 result, his publicly stated views, as well as his unvaccinated status, I consider that his ongoing presence in Australia may encourage other people to disregard or act inconsistently with public health advice and policies in Australia," said Hawke.

Simon Atkinson, for BBC News in Melbourne, reported that after the news of Djokovic's second visa cancellation, there were scenes of jubilation.

"Motorists leaned from car windows, honking their horns and shouting their approval. Most people I've spoken to are pretty outraged that an unvaccinated player was ever allowed here in the first place,"he wrote.

 

 

Novak Djokovic Tennis Australian Open
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