Iran Press/ Asia: Djokovic’s lawyers succeeded in a bid to stop him from being deported on Thursday with a full hearing in the federal circuit court now scheduled for Monday.
The tennis champion spent eight hours detained at Melbourne airport overnight before Australian Border Force officials announced he had been denied entry into the country on Thursday morning. They cited a failure to meet Australia’s COVID vaccination exemption requirements.
It is understood the reigning Australian Open champion was relying on a previous COVID infection as the basis for his exemption to compete – but the federal government does not recognize that.
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After unsuccessfully pleading his case at the airport, Djokovic was transported to an immigration hotel in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton.
As the political and diplomatic ramifications unfurled, Djokovic’s lawyers sought an interim injunction to stop his deportation.
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