One of the refugees detained in the Park Hotel immigration facility where Novak Djokovic was previously held said he was “really happy” for the tennis star, “because he doesn’t deserve detention.”
Adnan Choopani, 24, arrived in Australian waters in 2013 after the government announced that no asylum seeker who entered by boat would ever be allowed to stay.
Choopani was 15 years old when his family urged him to flee Iran.
More than 8 years on, he’s still fighting for his freedom.
His case is currently working its way through the Federal Circuit Court, with his lawyers arguing he should be allowed to live in the community until his removal to a third country.
Choopani says the men inside Park Hotel hope the world’s top tennis player will advocate for their freedom after his release.
“We hope he’s not going to forget that in the first place we are both human,” he said. “We’ve been a victim of humiliation from Australia, in the same way how they did to him.”
