A former US Marine, Daniel Duggan, 57, is set to be extradited from Australia to the United States over allegations he illegally trained Chinese military pilots. Duggan was arrested in October 2022 in Orange, New South Wales, at the request of the US regime. Washington claims he violated US arms-trafficking laws by training Chinese fighter pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012, though Duggan denies these accusations and is an Australian citizen.

Duggan appealed the extradition, but on Thursday, a Federal Court judge dismissed the case, paving the way for his removal. Outside court, his wife, Saffrine Duggan, expressed disappointment and called on the government to intervene. US court documents allegedly state that Duggan did not seek permission from the US government to provide military training to Chinese forces. The father of six, who has renounced his US citizenship, faces up to 65 years in prison if convicted.

Duggan's lawyer had argued that Australia should oppose the extradition because it lacks an equivalent law covering the US charges, a requirement for extradition requests. However, in 2024, the then-Attorney General Mark Dreyfus approved the extradition, highlighting the geopolitical pressures from the US regime. Duggan has 28 days to appeal the Federal Court decision, which also ordered him to pay the government's costs.

Saffrine Duggan stated that her husband, held in a maximum-security prison, is "an ordinary Australian going about his business who broke no Australian law." She recounted that the family has endured 1,273 days of trauma since his arrest in a supermarket car park and that the case has cost them about half a million dollars. They struggled to fund it due to an injunction on their home, preventing its sale, underscoring the personal toll of this international legal dispute.

Source: www.bbc.com