Refugee advocates estimate about 33 men are currently being detained inside Park Hotel in Carlton, Melbourne.
The makeshift detention centre - once a COVID quarantine hotel - is the new temporary home of world tennis No.1 Novak Djokovic, who is facing possible deportation after being denied a visa to enter Australia on Thursday.
By Thursday afternoon, supporters with Serbian flags and a media pack had joined regular refugee protestors outside the Victorian building.
Watch: This video was shared by some of the men inside last year. Post continues after video.
But while Djokovic's stay will likely only be fleeting, the other men behind those walls have been fighting for freedom for nine long years.
Their plight only remains in the headlines sporadically thanks to the Australian government's continued ironclad dedication to harsh immigration policies.
Here are some of their stories.
"I've served more time than rapists."
Cousins Mehdi Ali and Adnan Choopani are two of the men being held in the same hotel as Djokovic.
They arrived in Australia from Iran seeking sanctuary when they were 15 and 16. In their country, they faced systemic oppression as members of the Ahwazi Arab minority.
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