Ex-Top Gun pilot loses appeal against extradition
A former US fighter pilot accused of training Chinese soldiers is set to be extradited from Australia after his appeal was rejected following a years-long legal battle.
Daniel Duggan spent three and a half years in custody over allegations that he violated US arms trafficking laws by training Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012.
He was arrested on US orders in 2022 at a supermarket in NSW, where he lived with his wife Saffrine and their six children.
The Duggan family’s years-long fight against extradition suffered a severe blow in December 2024, when then-attorney general Mark Dreyfus approved the extradition.
They appealed the decision in the Federal Court, which ruled on Thursday in the nation’s capital.
Judge James Stellios dismissed the appeal and ordered Duggan to pay the government’s costs in a brief but scathing ruling.
An objection can be made against the judge’s decision within 28 days.
Duggan’s lawyers argued that the crime against him was not classified as a crime in Australia at the time, which was contrary to the requirements of the extradition treaty.
For an extradition to be considered lawful, the crime must be of a criminal nature in both the requested and requested countries.
Ms Duggan met with supporters to hear the verdict.
He has been open about the financial toll of his legal battle to his family, who estimate his legal bills at nearly half a million dollars.
While Duggan was denied Legal Aid, an injunction placed on his family’s half-built home means they cannot sell it or live in it.
Ms Duggan previously revealed he was being held in a maximum security prison in central NSW, about 100km away from his family.
The initial charges and indictment against the Australian citizen were filed in a sealed case during US President Donald Trump’s first term.
Duggan had previously written in a letter from prison that he believed his activities were not illegal and that Australian and US intelligence services were aware of his work.
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