Australia Day Council of South Australia member, Peter Tsokas, has been banned from entering Russia for life, according to The Advertiser.
Tsokas is one of the 12 members on the Council and was among 48 other Australians who were sanctioned by the Russian Foreign Ministry over the weekend.
The Council, which hosts several annual events around Australia Day, celebrated the Ukrainian community in South Australia, many of whom are refugees fleeing the war with Russia.
According to The Advertiser, it is believed the Council “were sanctioned because of a decision to ban Russian sympathisers from participating in the Australia Day parade.”
Other sanctioned Council members included Torrens MP Dana Wortley, Mitcham Mayor Heather Holmes-Ross, Adelaide councillor Jing Li, Antonietta Cocchiaro, Michelle Cox, Daniel Melino, Anna Cheung, Gillian Lewis, Grant Mayer, Rajendra Pandey and Mario Romaldi.
This comes after last year Russia blacklisted another 121 Australians, including defence officials, businessmen, reporters and editors, from entering the country ‘indefinitely.’
Four Greek Australians were amongst the blacklist including national security editor of The Strategist, Anastasia Kapetas; ABC radio news anchor, Patricia Karvelas; Chairman of the Board of Directors of SBS, George Savvides; and Associate Secretary of the Department of Defence, Matt Yannopoulos.
Source: The Advertiser
