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Novak Djokovic could receive a 5-year prison sentence for “lying” on his entry to Australia

The case of Novak Djokovic added a new chapter during the last hours that could give a drastic turn to the detailed investigation carried out by the Australian authorities on his case. The tennis player, who won the first legal battle to remain in the organizing country of the first Grand Slam of the year, lives with hours of shock after confessing that he attended events knowing that he had coronavirus and admitting errors in the documentation presented to travel.

nole He accepted that his team made the travel declaration and explained that there was “a human and not deliberate error” by his agent: “My agent sincerely apologized for typing the wrong box on my previous trip to Australia.” In this way, Djokovic confessed two of the great controversies that had been positioned on his figure, taking into account that the weekend had been pointed out because he was seen at various events – even one with several children – after testing positive, although he only accepted that he knew of his contagion when he conducted an interview with L’Equipe.

After detailing that he traveled to Spain from Belgrade during the 14 days prior to arriving in Australia, he has already recognized a flaw. But now the local authorities have another process under scrutiny: Djokovic assured that he received the positive test on the night of December 17, but in his affidavit before the court he warned that he was “examined and diagnosed” on December 16, as quoted by the australian daily The Age.

The photo of Djokovic with his luggage, the day he announced that he would travel to Australia after receiving a medical exemptionThe photo of Djokovic with his luggage, the day he announced that he would travel to Australia after receiving a medical exemption

This item takes on substantial relevance in the case and even the outlet in question indicates that Internal Affairs is investigating this inconsistency: “The maximum penalty for giving false evidence under the Crimes Act is a five-year prison sentence,” they pointed out. journalists Anthony Galloway, Paul Sakkal and Ben Grubb. To this must be added that days ago Australian border sources had warned in local media that they could prevent entry into the country for up to three years: “A person whose visa has been revoked can be prohibited for a period of three years who will be even issue a temporary visa.”

It is not the only issue that is under the orbit after the chronicler Ben Rothenberg -a regular contributor to the New York Times newspaper- raised on his social networks the striking change in results that shows the formal test that Djokovic presented to the authorities. The journalist scanned the QR code on different occasions, but the result that appeared was “positive” and then “negative”.

In The Age They warn that the office in charge of the issue is asking the questions: “It is investigating new questions about whether Djokovic’s positive result for COVID-19 was manipulated after inconsistencies arose about the timing and result of his PCR test.”

Immigration officials decided to “expand” the investigation after all this evidence is brought to light with the focus positioned on the breach of isolation in Serbia, the failure to complete his entry form to Australia and the inconsistencies around the date of your test results.

Regardless of this situation, the immigration minister, Alex Hawke, has in his hands the special power to cancel the visa beyond the recent sanction of the justice. The argument put forward is that previous coronavirus infection in the last six months is not a valid justification for not having received the vaccine. Hawke also has the possibility of deporting the number 1 in the world ranking simply claiming public health reasons.

However, Djokovic could experience something similar to what Czech tennis player Renata Voracova went through, who was deported from the country even after playing a tournament. Next weekend the first Grand Slam of the season will start and nole he is the top favourite, but he could suffer a punishment from the Australian authorities even in the middle of that contest. Several parliamentarians from the federal government want to know the determination as soon as possible, but federal sources told The Age that Hawke is determined to wait as long as it takes for all process guidelines to be met, “even if it meant it would take days.” The detail is that the Serb’s lawyers presented “extensive additional documents” that must be analyzed.

Djokovic was in an event with children after taking the test that had a positive resultDjokovic was in an event with children after taking the test that had a positive result

Djokovic’s recent post opened a pandora’s box that resonated both in Australia and in Serbia, his country. The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, acknowledged before the BBC that the tennis player could have committed a “clear violation” if he left his house knowing that he had COVID-19: “If you are positive, you have to be isolated. I don’t know when he actually got the results, when he saw the results, so there is a gray area…Novak may provide the only answer to this.”

nole He shared a basketball game on December 14 and was photographed with a player who tested positive 48 hours later. Djokovic assured the Australian authorities that on the 16th of that month he learned that he had a coronavirus, but the controversy grew after seeing his appearances in at least three public presentations during those days. He assured in his last post that he received the exam “after the event” in which he was with children at an award ceremony, but he accepted that he went to his tennis center on December 18 to conduct an interview with the French newspaper L’Equipe knowing that it was positive.

The tennis player’s home country stipulates a self-isolation period of at least 14 days if there is a positive COVID-19 test, unless the person receives a negative PCR test result within that period.

While all this unfolds, this Thursday during the early hours of Latin America the draw for the main draw of the Australian Open will be held with Djokovic as the first pre-qualified and he will already know his rival for the debut…

Djokovic during training in Marbella, Spain, prior to his trip to Australia (Photo: Reuters)Djokovic during training in Marbella, Spain, prior to his trip to Australia (Photo: Reuters)

(Source: Infobae)

Shubham Bangwal

Shubham Bangwal Senior Journalist at People News Chronicle whose Special interest is in Politics, Crime, Entertainment and Technology news.

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