On March 5, Dr. Christian Blex, German Parliamentarian and Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany or AfD) deputy spokesman, announced that he and five other AfD members of parliament were making a private visit to Syria. During their visit, the AfD members of the German Bundestag visited at least three major cities in eastern Syria still contested by rebel forces. Blex had just returned from a February visit to Russian-occupied Crimea prior to leaving for Syria. The trip lasted four days and spanned from Damascus to Aleppo.

At the time of AfD’s visit, Eastern Ghouta faced some of the harshest days of a siege lasting since 2013, in which nearly 400,000 people were trapped in the rebel enclave. By the end of the AfD’s nearby visit, the death toll in Eastern Ghouta had risen to 957 civilian deaths since the regime assault ramped up in late February 2018, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Later on March 5, Blex posted a picture on Facebook, showing the view from his hotel in Damascus, Syria. Cross-referencing the surroundings with satellite imagery of Damascus, the vantage point of the photo was proven to be from the 5-star Dama Rose Hotel, a luxury hotel in central Damascus.

View from the Dama Rose. (Satellite imagery source: Google maps; Source: Facebook / Dr. Christian Blex)

Less than three miles away, rebels and civilians alike lay besieged in East Ghouta as the joint Syrian-Russian air campaign raged on in the recent offensive against the rebel enclave. In his first post detailing his Syria visit, Blex described the AfD Syria delegation, which consisted of the following figures:

Dr. Christian Blex , Member of State Parliament, AfD Parliamentary Group North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) State Parliament, Deputy Spokesman of AfD State Association NRW

, Member of State Parliament, AfD Parliamentary Group North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) State Parliament, Deputy Spokesman of AfD State Association NRW Udo Hemmelgarn , Member of the German Bundestag

, Member of the German Bundestag Frank Pasemann , Member of the German Bundestag, Member of AfD Federal Executive Board

, Member of the German Bundestag, Member of AfD Federal Executive Board Jürgen Pohl , Member of the German Bundestag, Member of the AfD StateAssociation Board Thuringia

, Member of the German Bundestag, Member of the AfD StateAssociation Board Thuringia Thomas Röckemann , Member of State Parliament, AfD Parliamentary GroupNRW State Parliament, AfD StateAssociation NRW spokesman

, Member of State Parliament, AfD Parliamentary GroupNRW State Parliament, AfD StateAssociation NRW spokesman Dr. Harald Weyel, Member of the German Bundestag

Two days following their arrival in Damascus, Blex posted an image to his Facebook page as the delegation enjoyed a breakfast in Damascus after a meeting with the regime of Bashar al-Assad the previous day. In the text accompanying the image, Blex questioned the legitimacy of Syrian refugees, and whether they were truly Syrian. The final assault on Eastern Ghouta was underway just miles from his location.