"I appeal to the Queen of Britain, Elizabeth, to intervene and stop the torture" - Novak Djokovic's father Srdjan
Novak Djokovic has returned to the courts at Melbourne Park after winning a controversial legal battle over his visa. But the World No. 1's father Srdjan Djokovic is still concerned about his son's well-being, and on Monday he even urged Queen Elizabeth II to intervene on his behalf.
Earlier in the day, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia overturned the Border Force's decision to cancel Djokovic's visa. The Serb had arrived at Melbourne last week with a vaccine exemption to compete at the Australian Open, but was allowed to leave the detention center only after the court ruling.
Within a few minutes of the verdict being announced, Djokovic's father Srdjan spoke to the media in Belgrade and claimed that the World No. 1 had been arrested by Australian officials. That was later proven to be false, and Djokovic was seen at Rod Laver Arena in the evening.
During another interaction with the media, Srdjan requested Queen Elizabeth (the constitutional monarch of Australia) to protect Novak from the "political prosecution" he was facing. Srdjan believes that his son is being targeted by the Australian government, in a campaign led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
"I call on the Queen of Britain, Elizabeth, the leader of the Commonwealth, to intervene and protect the human rights of my son Novak Djokovic and to stop the political prosecution that has been carried out against him since he came to Australia," Srdjan Djokovic said. "I appeal to the Queen of Britain, Elizabeth, to intervene and stop the torture carried out over the multiple Wimbledon champion."
Mr Djokovic’s visa has been cancelled. Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders. No one is above these rules. Our strong border policies have been critical to Australia having one of the lowest death rates in the world from COVID, we are continuing to be vigilant.
The 61-year-old went on to call Scott Morrison a "dictator" and insinuated that he had taken "justice in his own hands" by ordering the arrest of his son.
"Contrary to the decision of the Independent Court of Australia, dictator Scott ordered the arrest of my son, your world champion, Novak Djokovic, and deportation, banning him from entering the country for three long years," Srdjan said. "The court showed that law exists in Australia, but Scott dared to take justice into his own hands."
Srdjan Djokovic proceeded to appeal to Australians and the rest of the world, exhorting them to condemn the treatment and "brutal human rights violations" of his son in Melbourne.
"I call on all Australians and the whole world to raise their voices against terror and the brutal human rights violations of the world's best tennis player," Srdjan Djokovic said. "The arrest of Novak Djokovic is a political prosecution that has been conducted from the very beginning, from a political center of power that has decided that neither the court nor justice means anything anymore."
Protest,support for Novak in Belgrade today. 🇷🇸
Dijana Djokovic,Srdjan Djokovic and Djordje.🙌
@DjokerNole @NDjokofan @NovakFanClub #Djokovic
#WeStandWithNovak 🙏❤
📸: novosti.rs blic.sport.rs https://t.co/vB23Sp8KAX
Novak Djokovic thanks his fans for their support after hitting the practice courts
After being released from detention, Novak Djokovic took to social media to express his thoughts on the recent developments. Djokovic asserted that he wants to "remain focused" on his title defense and that he is looking forward to competing at the 2022 Australian Open.
The World No. 1 also cryptically stated he couldn't "say more" for now, before thanking his fans for their support and encouragement.
Below are the tweets that Djokovic sent out late on Monday:
I’m pleased and grateful that the Judge overturned my visa cancellation. Despite all that has happened,I want to stay and try to compete @AustralianOpen
I remain focused on that. I flew here to play at one of the most important events we have in front of the amazing fans. 👇 https://t.co/iJVbMfQ037
For now I cannot say more but THANK YOU all for standing with me through all this and encouraging me to stay strong 🙏🙏🙏🙏
Also check out: Complete 2022 Australian Open Schedule of Play