A Sydney decide on Friday dominated that former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan could be extradited to the US on allegations that he illegally educated Chinese language aviators, leaving the attorney-general as Duggan’s final hope of remaining in Australia.
Justice of the Peace Daniel Reiss ordered the Boston-born 55-year-old to stay in custody awaiting extradition.
Whereas his legal professionals mentioned they’d no authorized grounds to problem the Justice of the Peace’s ruling that Duggan was eligible for extradition, they’ll make submissions to Legal professional-Basic Mark Dreyfus on why the pilot shouldn’t be surrendered.
“The lawyer will give us ample time, I am fairly positive, to ventilate all the points that underneath the Extradition Act usually are not able to being run in an Australian courtroom,” Duggan’s lawyer, Bernard Collaery, advised reporters exterior courtroom.
Dreyfus’ workplace mentioned in an announcement the federal government doesn’t touch upon extradition issues.
Duggan’s spouse and mom of his six kids, Saffrine Duggan, mentioned the extradition courtroom listening to was “merely about ticking packing containers.”
“Now, we respectfully ask the attorney-general to take one other take a look at this case and to carry my husband dwelling,” she advised a gathering of reporters and supporters exterior courtroom.
Earlier this month, Duggan’s lawyer mentioned in a authorized submitting that the pilot unknowingly labored with a Chinese language hacker, the Reuters information company reported.
The pilot has spent 19 months in maximum-security jail since he was arrested in 2022 at his household dwelling within the state of New South Wales.
In a 2016 indictment from the U.S. District Courtroom in Washington, D.C., unsealed late 2022, prosecutors say Duggan conspired with others to supply coaching to Chinese language navy pilots in 2010 and 2012, and presumably at different occasions, with out making use of for an acceptable license.
Prosecutors say Duggan obtained about 9 funds totaling round 88,000 Australian {dollars} ($61,000) and worldwide journey from one other conspirator for what was typically described as “private growth coaching.”
A extremely regarded jet pilot, Duggan spent 12 years within the U.S. Marine Corps, reaching the rank of main and dealing as a tactical flight teacher earlier than immigrating to Australia in 2002. In January 2012, he gained Australian citizenship, selecting to surrender his U.S. citizenship within the course of.
The indictment says Duggan traveled to the U.S., China and South Africa, and supplied coaching to Chinese language pilots in South Africa.
Duggan has denied the allegations, saying they have been political posturing by the US, which unfairly singled him out.
Duggan labored at an organization known as High Gun Tasmania, which billed itself because the Australia’s “premier journey flight firm.”
On the corporate’s now-defunct net web page, Duggan described himself as a “former U.S. Marine Corps officer of over 12 years.” He flew missions in help of Operation Southern Watch from Kuwait and the united statesBoxer, the web site says.
“As a extremely educated fighter pilot, he flew harrier leap jets off of plane carriers tactically across the globe,” the web site mentioned.
AFP contributed to this report.
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