Attorney Burns: Australian Minister's Decision in Djokovic Case Sets Very Dangerous Precedent

Novak Djokovic(Photo:Marko Djokovic/Starsportphoto ©)

Greg Burns, attorney to Julian Assange and legal advisor of the WikiLeaks organization, has said that the decision of Australia's immigration minister to cancel tennis player Novak Djokovic's visa has set "a very dangerous precedent," adding that politics played a role in this ruling.

"While it may seem that there were administrative errors [made] by several groups and individuals, those were not reason enough to cancel Djokovic's visa even the first time. Ultimately, the minister stated that the visa was canceled because of Djokovic's stance on vaccines and because, due to his fame, that stance could potentially foster ant-vax sentiment. Which is an extremely dangerous precedent," Burns, who is also the spokesman of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, told the Jan. 20 issue of the Serbian weekly Nedeljnik.

According to Burns, "the minister's decision is dangerous because it essentially says: if someone has views on subjects that are controversial and important to Australia and the government doesn't like those views, they can cancel that person's visa."

"Political reasons inevitably played a role in the decision because the concept of public interest is so broad that it effectively allows the minister to take into account political views, although, theoretically speaking, he shouldn't. The broad discretionary powers given to Australia's immigration minister mean that political views can lead to decisions that seriously impact people's lives," Burns stressed.