A Victorian Labor MP has been denied entry to the US while travelling on official parliamentary business.Â
Khalil Eideh​, who was born in Lebanon and identifies as a Muslim, was barred from boarding a flight to Denver while trying to leave from Vancouver, Canada.
He is travelling with a cross-party group of MPs who are studying drug policy and heroin injecting rooms throughout Europe and North America.Â
Mr Eideh, who is the deputy president of Victorian parliament's legislative council, was elected in 2006.Â
Victorian Sex Party MP Fiona Patten, who is part of the delegation, said she was devastated.
She said Mr Eideh was travelling on an official US visa that he had received three weeks ago.
"It's horrible," she said. "We've just landed in Denver missing one of our team."Â
Ms Patten said she was unaware of Mr Eideh's current whereabouts but assumed he remained in Vancouver.
She said he was devastated at being barred entry to the US.Â
The reason for denying entry to Mr Eideh remains unclear. Â
The US embassy declined to comment for privacy reasons.
A spokeswoman for the Victorian government said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had been asked to seek an explanation from US authorities.Â
Mr Eideh is an Alawite Muslim. The biggest Alawi communities are based in Syria although there are smaller populations in surrounding countries, including Lebanon.Â
In 2006 Mr Eideh hit back at allegations he supported terrorism after he wrote a letter pledging loyalty to Syrian president Bashar al-Asaad in a bid to stop a Syrian honorary consul in Melbourne from intimidating the local community.
The allegations were aired after Mr Eideh was preselected as a candidate for the western metro region in the upper house.Â
More to come