Brisbane, Australia
CNN
—
An Australian prosecutor confirmed on Monday that a former US Marine accused of training Chinese military pilots will be extradited to face charges in the United States, dealing a blow to his supporters who have launched a public campaign to demand his release.
Daniel Duggan, a naturalized Australian, was arrested in New South Wales in 2022 based on a 2017 US grand jury indictment accusing him of training Chinese military pilots in violation of a US arms embargo.
Dogan denies these accusations, claiming that US officials were aware of his activities and that he was only training civilian pilots as China's aviation sector boomed.
Prosecutor Mark Dreyfus stressed that “Duggan should be extradited to face trial for the crimes he is accused of.”
“Mr. Duggan was given the opportunity to provide explanations as to why he should not be extradited to the United States. In reaching my decision, I took into account all of the materials before me,” Dreyfus said in a statement on Monday.
His decision comes after Dogan's extradition was approved by a judge in May.
The pilot's wife, Safrin Dogan, said in a statement that she and her six children were “shocked and deeply saddened by this cruel and inhumane decision that was taken just before Christmas without explanation or justification from the government.”
“We feel abandoned by the Australian government and are deeply disappointed that they have completely failed in their duty to protect an Australian family. We are now considering our options,” she added.
If convicted, Dugan faces up to 65 years in prison.
Dogan has been detained since his arrest in October 2022, just weeks after he returned to his family in Australia after six years working in China. He was arrested by Australian police at the request of the American authorities.
The 2017 indictment filed in the District of Columbia says that “early in 2008, Duggan received an email from the U.S. Department of State informing him that he was required to register with the Defense Trade Controls Directorate and apply for authorization to train a foreign airline.” power.
Instead, it alleges he conspired with others – including the Flight Test Academy of South Africa (TFSA) – to export defense services in violation of the arms embargo on China.
In a statement to CNN in 2023, TFASA said it complies with the laws of every jurisdiction in which it operates.
Duggan held one pilot contract for the company in South Africa between November and December 2012, and “never worked for TFASA on any of his training assignments in China,” the statement said.
Duggan moved to China in 2013 and renounced his US citizenship at the US Embassy in Beijing in 2016, although it was dated 2012 on a certificate reflecting the date he became an Australian citizen, according to his lawyer.
In an 89-page memo filed with Dreyfus's office in August, Duggan's lawyers alleged that the former US soldier had become a political pawn during a period of heightened tensions between the US and China.
She said his case was used to send a message to Western pilots that the United States or its allies would not tolerate any dealings with China.
“The extradition request is a brutal response to hatred of China in the United States,” his lawyer Bernard Colleary wrote in a letter accompanying the request.
“While presenting Daniel Duggan as a scapegoat may please some, handing him over to a hardened political environment and a near-lawless prison system may also constitute a profound moral and foreign political failure on the part of Australia,” he wrote.
Dogan's arrest two years ago came as the US, UK and Australia formed a stronger security bond under AUKUS, a deal they signed in 2021 to join forces in the Pacific to confront an increasingly assertive China.
Since then, the UK and Australia have tightened their laws relating to former military personnel and their post-service activities.
