{"id":20873,"date":"2022-01-10T04:37:46","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T09:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=20873"},"modified":"2022-01-10T04:37:46","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T09:37:46","slug":"novak-djokovic-judge-orders-immediate-release-of-tennis-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2022\/01\/10\/novak-djokovic-judge-orders-immediate-release-of-tennis-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic: Judge orders immediate release of tennis star"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The judge hearing Novak Djokovic’s challenge to an order by the Australian government revoking his entry visa has dramatically overturned the decision.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Judge Anthony Kelly ordered the release of the tennis star from detention, and told the government to pay his costs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The 34-year-old Serbian player flew into Melbourne last week, hoping to defend his Australian Open title.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But Immigration Minister Alex Hawke could still cancel his visa on new grounds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The government acknowledged in court that Djokovic was not given enough time to respond following the notification to cancel his visa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The player was told he would have until 08:30 local time last Thursday to make comments about the visa cancellation under section 116 of the Australian Migration Act, but the Border Force made the final decision shortly after 07:40.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Judge said Djokovic could have had more time to make a submission about why his visa should not be withdrawn if authorities had stuck to the original time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“We all play by the same rules,” Judge Kelly said. “Stated in other terms: those rules were not observed.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The trial began on Monday morning after delays caused by technical issues with a live stream of proceedings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Lawyers for Djokovic argued that the 20-time Grand Slam winner entered the country on the understanding that his exemption from restrictions requiring travellers to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 was valid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Nick Wood told the court that the exemption had been granted to the player by two separate medical boards following a recent coronavirus infection and that he had presented all the necessary medical evidence to officials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“He had done absolutely everything. He had engaged with everything that was required of him by Tennis Australia,” Mr Wood said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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