Australia rushes to file defence of Djokovic ban as court battle looms - CNA

SPOTLIGHT ON REFUGEES

Health Minister Greg Hunt, asked about the furore at a media conference on Sunday, declined to comment since it was before the court, but noted that several other people involved in the tournament had their visas revoked.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham, asked about the matter on Channel 9 television, said without referring directly to Djokovic that "there's a clear difference between visas and entry requirements" and "entry requirements ... sit over and above the visa conditions".

Czech player Renata Voracova, who was detained in the same detention hotel as Djokovic and had her visa revoked after issues with her vaccine exemption, left the country without challenging her status, the Czech Foreign Ministry said.

Djokovic's situation has drawn an unlikely crowd to the modest Melbourne hotel which, until this month, was best known for media reports about asylum seeker occupants claiming they were served food containing maggots.

Anti-vaccine protesters, refugee advocates and Djokovic fans have converged outside the building, which is under police guard.

"The detention of Novak Djokovic has shone a global spotlight on the Park Hotel prison, but for the 36 refugees detained there indefinitely, it's not a game," said David Glanz, a spokesman for advocacy group Refugee Action Collective, in a statement, as a planned protest got underway.

"We fear that long after Djokovic is back on the lucrative global tennis circuit, those men will still be in detention – many of them in their ninth year of being held by the Australian government."

Home Affairs was not immediately available to respond to the protesters' claims.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said the player had been given gluten-free food, tools to exercise and a SIM card to stay in contact with the outside world.

"It's a positive tone from the Australian side. The Serbian government is ready to provide all the guarantees necessary for Novak to be allowed to enter Australia, the Serbian president is also involved," Brnabic said.

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2022-01-09 00:09:00Z
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