Secret Syrian trips revealed by Victorian MP who was blocked from entering the US

THE Victorian MP who was been caught lying about visits to Syria this year has been defended by a colleague, who says the scrutiny feels like ‘living in a communist state’.

Victorian MP Khalil Eideh arrives at Melbourne airport after he was refused entry to the United States. Picture: AAP/Wayne Taylor

A VICTORIAN MP refused entry to the United States during official parliamentary business last month has been caught lying about visits to Syria this year.

Deputy president of the Legislative Council, Khalil Eideh, on Thursday admitted to the Herald Sun he took two trips to the war-torn country, in April and July.

On his return to Australia after being denied entry to the US, Mr Eideh said he had last been in Syria “last Christmas”.

But the Herald Sun has now confirmed with the Labor MP that he visited family in Syria while on a trip to Lebanon in July. This followed an earlier trip in April.

Mr Eideh was to meet US officials today regarding what he called “embarrassing” treatment in being denied entry. No reason for it has been given, but sources have pointed to his links to Syria.

VICTORIAN MP KHALIL EIDEH BLOCKED FROM ENTERING US

Victorian MP Khalil Eideh arrives at Melbourne airport after he was refused entry to the United States. Picture Wayne Taylor.

Labor Minister Luke Donnellan defended Mr Eideh but appeared to not know the Deputy President’s name.

“I don’t really understand why it’s an issue Eideh Khalil needs to tell a media outlet that he has gone to visit his dad, who is 90 years of age, in Syria.

“I find it quite bizarre, I feel like we are living in a communist state where suddenly Eideh Khalil needs to tell people he has gone to visit his family.

“Seriously I don’t find it an issue at all.”

Mr Donnellan also said it was unlikely the public would ever know the reason Mr Eideh was blocked from entering America.

“The Americans don’t admit anything like this, let me be very clear there will be no response from the Americans on this issue, their visa services and the like, you don’t get any feedback.

“It is not an issue that I expect the Americans to have anything public to say on.”

A search of Mr Eideh’s social media accounts reveals anti-US material, including a video he shared in May with an Arabic post referring to US President Donald Trump as a “criminal demon face”.

Mr Eideh has previously come under fire for an October 2002 letter, five months before the Iraq invasion, professing loyalty to Syrian dictator Bashar al- Assad and highlighting threats of “Zionist and colonial attacks on the Arab nation’’

The Lebanon-born Mr Eideh, who has family in Syria, was stopped at Vancouver airport in Canada while on a parliamentary trip last month. He was given no reason for the refusal of entry to the US.

When confronted about his secret trips at parliament on Thursday, the veteran Western Metropolitan Region Upper House MP admitted them, but said it was “all my expenses” and not taxpayer-funded.

US President Donald Trump. Picture: Nicholas Kamm

He said he visited Lebanon with a medical delegation in July. Asked if he had also gone to Syria he said he always visited family when he could.

“Of course, I have my father there, every time I have the opportunity. He is 90 and he can’t travel back,’’ he said.

“We have got family in Lebanon and Syria. It is normal.

“The thing is, you don’t need a passport. You can go (across the border). You just need a proper ID and you can go up and down.’’

Mr Eideh is a dual Syrian-Australian citizen, and it is understood he regularly returns to Syria to visit family. There is no suggestion he did anything wrong by doing so.

Police Minister Lisa Neville said there was no suggestion Mr Eideh misled US authorities.

“He went to Syria and to visit his quite unwell father who is 90, I understand from reports,” Ms Neville said.

“There is no suggestion about anything untoward about that.

“Whether he should have informed the media at the time, that’s a matter for him to answer, why he didn’t let people know he was visiting his father, and I understand he paid for the trips himself.

“That’s a matter he will need to deal with in his meetings with the American Consulate and their passport control systems.”

Syrian President Bashar Assad.

A picture taken during a sandstorm shows destruction in the once rebel-held Karm al-Jabal neighbourhood in the northern city of Aleppo. Picture: Joseph Eid.

Ms Neville said it was acceptable for MPs to comment on Donald Trump on social media as there were a number of concerns about the US president.

“I think if you looked at a number of MPs across the country and across the world, they’re probably making some comments about Donald Trump,” Ms Neville said.

Apart from the anti-Trump post on his Facebook account, Mr Eideh also shared a post that refers to US senator John McCain as a Zionist. Some posts are also supportive of Syrian leader Mr Assad.

Mr Eideh confirmed the Facebook page was his, but said he did not remember posting the video. “I don’t know if it is hacking ... I would never post anything like this. No way.”

Questioned in parliament this week on whether Mr Eideh had taken any trips this year, the government’s leader in the Upper House, Gavin Jennings, said: “Mr Eideh … has family in Syria and he has visited his family in Syria, and he has made it very clear to me … he feels a great obligation to visit his father in Syria. That is the basis on which he has visited that country.’’

Parliamentary secretary to the Leader of the Opposition Tim Smith questioned why Mr Eideh had lied about the visits.

“When our police and security agencies are stretched to track Islamic State terrorists trying to return from the battlegrounds of Syria, it is unforgivable that a senior member of (the) government would make their job harder by publicly denying his regular visits there,’’ Mr Smith said.

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