By Christine Chen
SYDNEY, April 16 (Reuters) – A former U.S. Marine Corps pilot on Thursday lost an appeal against his extradition from Australia to the United States on charges of violating U.S. arms control laws while training Chinese pilots.
Daniel Duggan, a naturalised Australian citizen, was arrested in the state of New South Wales in October 2022 by Australian Federal Police on a U.S. request, shortly after returning from China, where he had lived since 2014.
In December 2024, Australia’s then attorney-general Mark Dreyfus approved a U.S. extradition request for him.
Duggan challenged the extradition decision, arguing it was invalid because the attorney-general made legal errors by failing to properly apply the country’s Extradition Act in light of the extradition treaty between Australia and the United States.
But Federal Court of Australia Judge James Stellios dismissed his appeal on Thursday, finding no errors in the decision.
“I am not persuaded that the impugned decisions were infected by jurisdictional error. Therefore, the application must be dismissed,” he said.
A spokesperson for Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the government noted the Federal Court’s ruling.
“Mr Duggan will remain in extradition custody in Australia until his surrender to the United States of America,” they said in a statement.
Duggan, who has six children in Australia, has been in custody since his arrest.
His wife, Saffrine, told public broadcaster ABC that the family was disappointed by the ruling but would consider its options. “Make no mistake: we will not give up,” she said. An appeal can be lodged within 28 days.
DUGGAN FACING FOUR U.S. CHARGES
The U.S. sought Duggan’s extradition for four offences linked to the training of Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2009 and 2012.
The charges include one count of conspiring to violate U.S. arms export laws and defraud the U.S., which carries a five-year jail term, two arms export control violations each carrying potential 20‑year prison terms, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, also punishable by up to 20 years in jail.
Duggan’s legal team had argued that his conduct was not an offence in Australia at the time or when the U.S. requested extradition and so did not meet the requirement for “dual criminality” in Australia’s extradition treaty with the United States.
The court said the treaty did not modify the Extradition Act to require “dual criminality”, and therefore did not require Australia to refuse the extradition request from the U.S.
(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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