Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vucic, this Thursday called “political persecution”, a situation experienced by tennis player Novak Djokovic in Australia, after the country’s authorities revoked visas to enter the country.
“What is not ‘fair-play’ is political oppression [contra Djokovic] In which everyone participates, starting with the Prime Minister of Australia, claiming that the rules are the same for everyone,” Vucic said while speaking to the media.
Vucic underlined that Serbian officials are “doing what they can” to help Djokovic, explaining that Belgrade has twice contacted Australia’s ambassador to Serbia and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on Australian immigration. And are about to meet a senior official in the border ministry.
Belgrade will ask Australian authorities for Jojovic to stay in a rented house for the Australian Open period and not in a hotel that serves as a detention center where he currently resides – a situation that has been termed “Vucic”. in the proper sense of”.
“I’m afraid this kind of political stubbornness against Novak will continue, because you talk like this when you can’t beat someone,” the Serbian president said.
Djokovic, who has not been vaccinated against Covid-19, arrived at Melbourne city airport on Wednesday night with a medical exemption that would allow him to defend his Australian Open title, but border control officials refused to watch him. was canceled when tennis players failed to justify authorization. And kept him in custody for several hours.
The world number one tennis player will not be deported until Monday, the day of the court’s decision, and is currently in quarantine at a hotel in Melbourne.
The tennis player, who is the sport’s foremost voice against vaccination, had already spoken out against compulsory vaccination in April 2020, which was then announced to allow tournaments to resume.
