There are four key reasons why Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke exercised his powers to cancel Novak Djokovic’s visa after he had won a Federal Curt reprieve on Monday.
- When did he discover he was Covid positive?
A sworn affidavit to the Federal Circuit Court claimed the tennis star was ‘tested and diagnosed’ for Covid on December 16.
But this contradicts his Instagram statement on Wednesday, after pictures emerged of the world N.1 at an event in Belgrade on December 17 presenting awards to children – without a mask.
He said he only learned of his positive test shortly after the meeting.
- Was the test manipulated?
German newspaper Der Spiegel claimed when a reporter entered the QR code for his December 16 test into the official Serbian health database at 1.19pm on Monday, the result came back negative.
An hour later at 2.33pm, the scan returned a positive result.
A negative result would have invalidated Djokovic’s visa claim.
- Did Djokovic breach Covid rules in Serbia?
Djokovic admitted he had attended an event with children while he was Covid positive, but then claimed he didn’t know he was infected.
He was then photographed at an awards for children in Belgrade on December 17 – a day after recording a positive result.
Under Serbian law, where anyone Covid positive must isolate for 14 days, such a breach can carry a maximum sentence of three years jail.
- The star provided false information on his immigration entry form, which was also used as evidence in court.
Djokovic (or as she states, his manager) wrote incorrect information on his landing card telling Australian Border Force officials he had not travelled in the past 14 days. But he had visited Spain.
All travellers arriving in Australia are asked if they have “travelled or will travel in the 14 days prior to your flight to Australia”.
They are also warned: “Giving false or misleading information is a serious offence. You may also be liable to a civil penalty for giving false or misleading information.”
He was filmed playing tennis in the streets of Belgrade on December 25 and on December 31, as well as footage from Spain.
He also declared he was ‘tested and diagnosed’ for Covid on December 16 in a court document but then said the positive test was on December 17.
The maximum penalty for providing false or misleading information to the Australian government is 12 months’ imprisonment.
Finally, Mr Hawke, acting upon advice from Federal health authorities deemed that given Djokovic had admitted he was not vaccinated, was a clear danger to public health given the fact Victoria recorded 37,169 Covid infections on Thursday, with a record high 953 patients in hospital and 111 in intensive care.
