An Australian Federal Court dismissed 57-year-old Daniel Duggan’s appeal against extradition to the U.S., where he faces charges of illegally training Chinese military pilots through a South African flight school.
Duggan, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested in October 2022 by the Australian Federal Police in New South Wales. The case against him is based on a 2016 U.S. grand jury indictment alleging he trained Chinese pilots as an instructor for the Test Flying Academy of South Africa between 2009 and 2012.
In 2024, Australia’s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus approved Duggan’s extradition to the United States.
Duggan, a naturalized Australian citizen who renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2016, challenged the extradition decision, arguing that Australia should refuse the request because there is no equivalent Australian law covering the U.S. charges, a requirement for extradition.
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 told Reuters that Duggan will remain in detention in a maximum-security prison until his surrender to the U.S.
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. Duggan has 28 days to appeal the Federal Court decision.
