Prosecution of Daniel Duggan

Daniel Duggan
Born	1969 (age 54–55)
Citizenship	Australian
Occupation	Retired U.S. Marine Corps pilot
Spouse	Saffrine Duggan
Children	6 school-aged children

Daniel Edmund Duggan is an Australian father of six who was arrested in regional NSW in October 2022 at the request of the United States government following a 2017 indictment filed during the Trump administration. The allegations in the indictment stem from work that Mr Duggan undertook from 2010-2012 whilst he was an American citizen. He is accused of training Chinese military pilots without the approval of the United States under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (IRAR) and is consequently facing charges of alleged Violations of the Arms Export Control Act, Conspiracy to Violate the Arms Export Control Act,  and “money laundering” relating to the payments he received for the training. Duggan has denied the charges.

Background

Daniel Duggan is an Australian citizen and father of six Australian children. He is married and the family lives in a small town near Orange in regional NSW. Duggan is being held in maximum security solitary confinement at Lithgow Correction Centre. https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/wife-of-extop-gun-pilot-slams-terrible-injustice-in-extradition-fight/news-story/866f86b4b45b7bd04f72d571d2eef308

Daniel Edmund Duggan was a member of the United States Marine Corps where he became a fighter and instructor pilot during his service. He spent 13 years the corps until 2002, when he left with the rank of major. Duggan moved to Australia in 2002 and became an Australian citizen in 2012. He operated a joy flight business, Top Gun Australia.

Daniel Duggan and his family spent time living and working in China. During this time Mr Duggan worked in China as an aviation consultant and undertook work with the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA). TFASA states the following about it services, “TFASA provides training to test pilots, flight test engineers, and basic operational instructor pilots under closely controlled security conditions. All training aspects and material are strictly unclassified, and provided either from open source or the clients themselves. No training involves classified tactics or other information, nor any frontline activities.”

(https://www.tfasa.com/statement-regarding-media-reports) Test Flying Academy of South Africa, (22 October 2022), retrieved 2023-09-26

Mr Duggan returned to Australia in September 2022 and was arrested a month later in a supermarket carpark after dropping his kids off at school.

Prosecution

Arrest, charges and detention

Duggan was arrested on October 21, 2022 in Orange, New South Wales pursuant to an American warrant for his arrest. The warrant was based on a December 2017 indictment which listed four charges against him: conspiracy to defraud the United States by conspiracy to unlawfully export defence services to China, conspiracy to launder money, and two counts of violating the arms export control act and international traffic in arms regulations. The indictment said Duggan did not seek formal approval from the U.S. government to provide military training to China despite the fact that the State Department had informed him by email in 2008 that he was required to do so in order train a foreign air force. It also said Duggan worked with unnamed co-conspirators including one British national who was an executive of "a test flying academy based in South Africa with a presence in the PRC",  TFASA denies the accusations, saying that all of Duggan's instructions were legal and followed international norms, adding that it followed a "code of conduct" to make sure that no material would be classified or considered sensitive from a legal or operational standpoint. Duggan also denied the accusations saying he had done nothing wrong and that he had taught civilian and not military test pilots.

No other pilots, management or instructors at the flying school have been charged with anything.

After Duggan's arrest,

Britain's air force chief said intelligence agencies in Australia and Britain had shared information to warn pilots against working for Beijing.

(https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/3/201664/Former-US-Marine-may-have-been-&  Reuters (20^th March 2023), “Former US Marine may have been 'lured' from China before arrest -lawyer”, retrieved 2023-09-26

Duggan was categorized as an Extreme High-Risk Restricted (EHRR) and Protection Non-Association (PRNA) prisoner, although according to The Guardian he has never been convicted of a crime anywhere in the world. He is being held in a two-by-four-meter cell at Lithgow Correctional Centre.

In a complaint filed with the United Nations human rights committee by Duggan's wife and lawyers, Duggan's imprisonment at the maximum security site was unjustified and causing him severe psychological distress. It also noted how Duggan was not receiving appropriate treatment for his "benign prostatic hyperplasia." The complaint included the testimony of a clinical psychologist who evaluated Duggan and characterized the circumstances of his confinement as "extreme" and "inhumane," and said that he was at risk of developing a serious depressive disorder despite having never suffered from mental health issues before.

The legality of Mr Duggan’s arrest is now the subject of an official Inquiry by the Australian Inspector General of Intelligence and Security after he was granted security clearance by ASIO prior to returning from China in 2022.

(https://amp.abc.net.au/article/102119002) McKinnell, Jamie (20^th March 2023), “Lawyers investigating if fighter pilot Daniel Duggan was 'lured back' to Australia by US authorities”, retrieved 2023-09-26

Extradition

Duggan's attorneys are looking into if the U.S. "lured" him back to Australia with the help of Australian security services to extradite him. One of Duggan's lawyer, Dennis Miralis, stated that while ASIO gave Duggan a security clearance to acquire an aviation license in 2022 while he was still in China, that clearance was revoked a few days after he arrived in Australia.   Duggan stated from prison that he risks "gross injustice" and a "cruelly long sentence" if extradited to the U.S., cautioning Australia against caving into the requests of "powerful countries." Duggan believes he will not receive a fair trial in America, where he risks up to 60 years in jail..

Another of Duggan’s lawyers Bernard Collaery said he believed the charges were politically motivated amid tensions between the United States and China. He claimed Australia, as an ally of the US, had a conflict of interest.

"So far as China is concerned, we were conducting joint military exercises at sea between the Royal Australian Navy, and the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy at a time (2010) when Dan Duggan is accused of, as it were, consorting with the enemy. It's double-standard. It's hypocrisy," he said.

"You must agree it makes a good show trial in Washington where the United States system is known for it. If Australia does extradite him we're liable to see him become a pawn in this China game. It is very worrying."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-25/daniel-duggan-speaks-from-australian-prison-cell-730/102639750

Duggan’s King’s Council Bret Walker told the magistrate’s court in Sydney in July 2023 the case was unique and may be of a political character. Extradition can be challenged on several grounds, including by arguing a person is being extradited to face a political offence. “There’s been no case of this kind argued or decided before,” Mr Walker said. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/jailed-pilot-will-rely-on-novel-defence-never-used-in-australia-20230725-p5dr4p.html

Other developments

In September 2023, Defence Minister Richard Marles announced that he would introduce laws into the Australian parliament to prevent Australian military personnel being recruited by other countries.

References

1.    ^ Jump up to:^{a b c} Doherty, Ben (20 March 2023). "Legal team fears pilot Daniel Duggan cannot be assured of fair trial in U.S. amid China tensions". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2023.

2.    ^ Jump up to:^{a b} Doherty, Ben (2023-03-25). "Daniel Duggan: investigation launched into imprisonment of Australian accused of training Chinese pilots". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-03-27.

3.    ^ Jump up to:^{a b c} "Former US pilot who worked in China arrested in Australia". AP News.

4.    ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f} "Ex-U.S. pilot held in Australia faces U.S. charges over Chinese military pilot training". Reuters.

5.    ^ Jump up to:^{a b c} "Exclusive: Former U.S. military pilot who worked in China arrested in Australia, faces extradition". Reuters.

6.    ^ Jump up to:^{a b} "Exclusive: Former U.S. military pilot arrested in Australia listed same Beijing address as Chinese hacker". Reuters.

7.    ^ Jump up to:^{a b} "Former US military pilot arrested in Australia had worked for South African flying school". Reuters.

8.    ^ Jump up to:^{a b c} "Ex-US pilot termed as 'high risk' prisoner in Australia". DW.

9.    ^ "Former U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot accused of conspiracy for training Chinese military pilots". CBS News.

10. ^ "Former U.S. military pilot arrived in Australia from China weeks before arrest - lawyer". Reuters.

11. ^ "South African flying school executive investigated by police in Australia". Reuters.

12. ^ Jump up to:^{a b} Doherty, Ben (2023-07-24). "Daniel Duggan: flight school where former US marine taught says syllabus 'totally unclassified'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-07-25.

13. ^ "Berlin calls on China to stop enlisting former German military pilots". Reuters.

14. ^ "Is China recruiting Canadian fighter jet pilots? Defence department probing reports". Global.

15. ^ "Flight training for Chinese military pilots targeted in latest US export crackdown". Reuters.

16. ^ "Australian spy chief says veterans training rivals are 'top tools' not 'top guns'". Reuters.

17. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d} Doherty, Ben (25 February 2023). "Clinical psychologist warns Daniel Duggan's detention conditions 'extreme and 'inhumane' as wife launches U.N. complaint". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2023.

18. ^ "Former US pilot Daniel Duggan's 'degrading' Australian prison conditions raised with United Nations". ABC News.

19. ^ McKinnell, Jamie (20 March 2023). "Lawyers investigating if pilot accused of training Chinese military was 'lured back' by U.S. authorities". ABC News. Retrieved 25 March 2023.

20. ^ Doran, Matthew (2023-03-25). "Watchdog investigating claims US authorities lured former pilot back to Australia". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-03-27.

21. ^ Doherty, Ben (4 March 2023). "Daniel Duggan says he faces 'gross injustice' if extradited to U.S. in speech from Sydney prison". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2023.