Immigrant detention hotel, dirty room: Novak's brother says Djokovic treated like criminal

Djordje Djokovic, Serbian tennis player and brother of legendary tennis player Novak Djokovic, has spoken about the recent developments of his brother in Australia. 20-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic’s visa being rejected by the Border Task Force of Australia on Wednesday has resulted in the entire tennis community being sent into a divide on their opinions about his treatment by the country. Novak earlier departed for Australia thinking that he has the required documentation to participate in the upcoming Australian Open 2022, including the much-debated COVID-19 vaccine exemption.

A report by Tennis World stated, as per Gaspar Ribeiro Lanca, Djordje Djokovic said that his brother is being treated like a criminal while revealing the tennis superstar’s current condition. Upon arriving in Melbourne on Wednesday, Novak’s documentation was rejected by the border officials, who cancelled his visa and ordered him out of the country. The Serbian tennis great appealed the order and is now confined to an immigration detention hotel in Melbourne, awaiting his deportation.

“He was taken to a migrant hotel to a dirty room without any belongings, which he was told would be returned to him upon his return to Europe. He was treated like a criminal while he is a healthy and decent man and a sportsman who has not endangered anyone’s life and has not committed any federal or legal offence," Djordje Djokovic said on the matter. 

What else has been said by Novak Djokovic's family?

Novak’s mother Dijana Djokovic and father Srdan also had their say on Djokovic’s condition at the hotel. Srdan said that Novak is being held captive and stated he is being made a scapegoat to a political scenario. As per Planet Sport, Djokovic’s mother Dijana also weighed in her thoughts on the matter and said, “I spoke with him a couple of hours ago, he was good, we didn't speak a lot but we spoke for a few minutes. He was trying to sleep, but he couldn't. As a mother, what can I say, you can just imagine how I feel, I feel terrible since yesterday, the last 24 hours. They are keeping him like a prisoner, it's just not fair, it's not human. I hope he will stay strong as we are also trying, to give him some energy to keep going. I hope he will win.'His accommodation [is] terrible. It's just some small, immigration hotel if it is a hotel at all. With bugs, it's all dirty, the food is terrible”.

Image: AP