Tennis star Jelena Dokic to fly to Serbia

BELGRADE - Tennis star Jelena Dokic is reportedly preparing to fly to Serbia from London to support her father and could arrive in Belgrade around 8 p.m. Melbourne time at the earliest, The Age reports.

Her volatile dad Damir has said that he will file an appeal before a European Union court to cancel his 15-month jail sentence, which he received for threatening to blow up the Australian ambassador to Serbia and possessing illegal weapons.

Dokic, 50, received a 10-month sentence on a charge of endangering the safety of Ambassador Clare Birgin and five months for illegally owning two nail bombs and 20 bullets.

Immediately after the sentence was handed down overnight Australian time, Dokic’s lawyer, Bosiljka Djukic, indicated she would appeal to the Ruma District Court and also to EU courts in Strasbourg due to lack of faith in local authorities.

“You can make your own conclusion on whether the sentence is political,” she told reporters as she left court.

Damir’s son Savo, who sat parked in his jeep opposite the court building during sentencing, was reportedly visibly shaken after the verdict and only said: “This is hard, it’s really hard.”

Earlier, he had told Alo newspaper that he was in daily contact with Jelena.

“We speak regularly. She is finding the whole thing upsetting too,” he said.

Dokic, who has been detained at Sremska Mitrovica prison awaiting sentence, was driven to court with a young Gypsy woman accused of theft.

A pale-looking and thinner-than-usual Dokic was returned to the same jail after the verdict. (ANI)