A former fighter pilot, Daniel Edmund Duggan, being held in a maximum security prison in Sydney at the request of the FBI, is “a shadow of his former self,” according to his wife. Mr. Duggan has been detained since his arrest in October last year. US authorities are seeking his extradition to face charges of breaching money laundering and arms export control laws over a decade ago.
It is alleged that he trained Chinese fighter pilots to land fighter jets on aircraft carriers through a flying academy in South Africa. However, Mr. Duggan has repeatedly denied the allegations and maintains his innocence.
Mr. Duggan’s wife, Saffron Duggan, has described her husband’s ongoing incarceration as “inhumane” and an “affront” to Australia’s sovereignty. She has petitioned the United Nations human rights committee to intervene, stating that the harsh conditions of his custody violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. His wife has also called for support in a petition calling for his release, which has garnered nearly 10,000 signatures.
Mr. Duggan’s lawyer, Dennis Miralis, has stated that his client was a pawn in a “politically motivated” prosecution, claiming that the indictment was brought at a time when the US administration was entering into a geopolitical contest with China. The Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus accepted an extradition request for Mr. Duggan in January. Still, Mr. Miralis has declared that his client will continue to fight the extradition order, and it will be “vigorously defended each step of the way.”
Mr. Duggan spent more than a decade flying in the US Marine Corps before moving to Australia and becoming a citizen in 2012. His arrest in October 2022 coincided with warnings from Australian authorities about former military pilots being offered lucrative contracts to train foreign pilots, with reports of former members of the ADF being approached to provide training to China.
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