Lawyer for Marine Vet Accused of Training Chinese Pilots Says Extradition ‘Political’

SYDNEY — The U.S has accused a former military pilot of illegally instruction Chinese military pilots, and is hoping to extradite him from Australia.

But the pilot’s law firm suggests his customer has been unfairly singled out simply because of the recent geopolitical wrestle between the U.S. and China.

Pilot Daniel Duggan, 54, has been held in an Australian jail considering that his October arrest. Duggan’s attorney Dennis Miralis said outside a Sydney courtroom Tuesday that Duggan denies the allegations and will continue on to battle the extradition course of action at every single step.

Australia’s Attorney-Basic Mark Dreyfus final thirty day period accepted the U.S. extradition ask for. But ahead of the extradition can move forward, a judge will have to to start with determine no matter if Duggan is qualified for extradition below Australian legislation.

Miralis claimed the U.S. Department of Protection had acknowledged there were other men and women encouraging overseas militaries but that the U.S. and Australia experienced singled out Duggan for extradition.

“We are worried that this does spotlight the political character of what’s taking place below,” Miralis told reporters.

A 2016 indictment from the U.S. District Courtroom in Washington, D.C., was recently unsealed. In it, prosecutors say Duggan was an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and a naval aviator. They say Duggan conspired with others to deliver coaching to Chinese army pilots in 2010 and 2012, and maybe at other situations, without having making use of for an acceptable license.

Prosecutors say Duggan acquired about 9 payments totaling about 88,000 Australian dollars ($61,000) and international journey from an additional conspirator for what was occasionally explained as “Personal Enhancement Instruction.”

The indictment claims Duggan traveled to the U.S., China and South Africa, and furnished some education to Chinese pilots in South Africa.

Miralis said Duggan “contests and denies” the allegations.

“It must be remembered that Mr. Duggan is presumed to be innocent below U.S. legislation. He’s presumed to be harmless below Australian law,” Miralis reported.

Miralis said his consumer confronted inhumane and unacceptable dwelling circumstances at the Silverwater Correctional Complicated, wherever he was currently being held with convicted felons and was selected an serious high-danger inmate.

“Mr. Duggan continues to be beneath amazing anxiety as a outcome of the current limits,” Miralis explained.

He explained Duggan hadn’t been ready to see his 6 kids due to the fact he was taken into custody three months ago.

Duggan claimed in his LinkedIn profile that in 2017 he became typical supervisor of AVIBIZ Confined, “a thorough consultancy company with a focus on the speedy escalating and dynamic Chinese Aviation Industry.” AVIBIZ is based in Qingdao, a town in jap Shandong province.

Duggan explained he spent 13 years in the U.S. Marine Corps till 2002. He became an AV-8B Harrier fighter pilot and an instructor pilot for the duration of his provider.

He lived in Australia from 2005 to 2014, founding and getting main pilot of Major Gun Tasmania, a company centered in Tasmania point out that presented joy flights in a British military jet trainer BAC Jet Provost, and a Chinese navy propeller-driven coach CJ-6A Nanchang.

He moved to Beijing in 2014. It is not very clear regardless of whether he continued to reside in China or what he was executing in Australia when he was arrested.

The U.S. has experienced an extradition treaty with Australia since 1976.

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