Australian judges reveal WHY they deported Novak Djokovic arguing it was clear tennis superstar was REFUSING to get vaccinated and finding he COULD encourage anti-vax sentiment
The official reasons for why Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia have been published by the Federal Court, with judges siding with Immigration Minister Alex Hawke on all grounds.
In a judgment handed down on Thursday, the full court found it was clearly open for Mr Hawke to find that Djokovic had refused to get vaccinated before entering Australia.
That’s even despite Djokovic’s claims he couldn’t get vaccinated before entering Australia as he had contracted Covid-19 on December 16.
The judges ran through several examples of Djokovic speaking about not wanting to get vaccinated over the years, before concluding: ‘It was plainly open to the Minister to infer that Mr Djokovic had chosen not to be vaccinated because he was opposed to vaccination or did not wish to be vaccinated.’
The court also found Minister Alex Hawke was right to be concerned that Djokovic’s position on vaccines could encourage anti-vaccine sentiment in Australia.
Djokovic’s presence in Australia ‘may encourage rallies and protests that may lead to heightened community transmission’, the judges said.
Djokovic was deported from Melbourne on Sunday night after the court handed down its decision, but none of its reasons.
He has since returned to Belgrade and there are reports he may be considering suing the Australian Government for his treatment.
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