The Australian pilot was to be extradited to the United States as early as last week after the federal government approved his extradition. a former US Marine pilot to the alleged crime over the training of Chinese fighter pilots.
Daniel Duggan, who has been in a maximum security prison in Australia for more than two years fighting his extraditionto be handed over to American authorities in the first half of 2025. In a statement, his family said they were “devastated” at the decision after the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, confirmed on Monday that he had approved Duggan’s extradition to the US.
“Acknowledging the public interest in this matter, I decreed on December 19, 2024 under section 22 of the same Extradition Act 1988 (Cth) Daniel Duggan must be extradited to the United States to stand trial for the offenses with which he is charged,” Dreyfus said in a statement.
“Mr Duggan was given the opportunity to provide representations as to why he was not extradited to the United States. In arriving at my opinion, I examined all the material before me.
The US has sought the extradition of Duggan, 55, on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering stemming from his alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots for more than a decade. The allegations were not proven in court.
A U.S. indictment alleges that Chinese military pilots were allowed to land on aircraft carriers – known as “carrier-arrested ports” – in violation of arms trade laws. The indictment details Duggan’s alleged payment in 2011 and 2012 to train Chinese pirate flight pilots at an academy “based in South Africa, with a presence in the People’s Republic of China.”
The father of six – whose children are aged between six and 18 and are all Australian citizens – faces a potential prison term of 60 years if convicted in the US.
“We are shocked and deeply appalled by this callous and inhumane decision, delivered by the government before Christmas without explanation or apology,” Duggan’s wife, Saffrine, said in a statement.
The family said they received a brief letter from the attorney general’s department on Friday confirming Dreyfus’ decision, which proposed that Duggan would be brought to the United States sometime after December 30 and before February 17.
The Duggan family said they are considering their legal options, “including the specific reasons for the government’s decision,” which they did not address in the letter.
“We feel abandoned by the Australian government and completely disappointed that they have completely failed in their duty to protect the Australian family,” Saffrine said.
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“It is very difficult to explain to the children why this is happening to their father, now especially at this time of the year. We were all afraid that we would not see him for a very long time. My children are very sad.
The family said Duggan maintained his innocence and denied the allegations made against him.
Dreyfus noted in his that it was Duggan I found in May that the Southern Magistrate had cleared the surrender to HS
“To protect the safety of all persons involved and to protect the integrity of the extradition process, as is longstanding practice, the Australian government does not comment on operational matters relating to extradition, including the timing and specific arrangements for a person’s extradition. ” the attorney general said.