.DjokerNole back in immigration detention as deportation appeal moves to higher court
Djokovic was not seen on the online feed available to the public for the virtual hearing, which began just two days before he is scheduled to play his first match of 2022 at Melbourne Park.
Police closed down a lane behind the building where Djokovic’s lawyers are based and two vehicles exited the building mid-afternoon local time on Saturday. In television footage, Djokovic could be seen wearing a face mask in the back of a vehicle near an immigration detention hotel.Deportation from Australia can lead to a three-year ban on returning to the country, although that may be waived, depending on the circumstances.
The main ground of appeal against Hawke’s decision, according to the athlete’s lawyers, was that it was not based on the health risk that Djokovic might pose by not being vaccinated, but on how he might be perceived by anti-vaxxers. Australia is currently facing a massive surge in virus cases driven by the highly transmissible omicron variant. On Friday, the nation reported 130,000 new cases, including nearly 35,000 in Victoria state.