Prior to his upcoming court appearance, a former American fighter pilot who later became an Australian citizen and is suspected of aiding in the training of Chinese military pilots was transferred to a high security prison in New South Wales.
Daniel Duggan, 54, was detained in October of last year close to his Orange, NSW, family home on charges that he had trained Chinese pilots in the military.
The father of six has refuted the accusations, claiming that the US was unfairly singling him out as a result of its “political” posturing.
The federal government granted US officials’ request to extradite him late last year.
His attorneys are fighting against extradition, and the matter is now before a magistrate in Sydney who will determine whether Duggan, who acquired Australian citizenship in 2012, qualifies for extradition. Tomorrow is the hearing date.
Almost a week ago, Duggan was transferred from Sydney’s Silverwater Prison to Lithgow Maximum Security Institution.
His family and friends insist he should be allowed bail or put into home confinement because he does not represent a flight risk.
Speaking through a spokeswoman while in custody, Duggan said that he was being kept with murderers, rapists, and terrorists in a two by four meter cell.
“This case represents a test of Australian sovereignty, but it is being fought at considerable personal and financial cost by a poor farming family in northern NSW.
I categorically deny the accusations made against me. The suggestion that I am a spy is abhorrent, and I am considering filing a defamation lawsuit against the officials who are spreading this nonsense.
“They seem to forget that I have six great Australian children who are being traumatized at the expense of the Australian taxpayer, at the direction of the United States, and who are experiencing tremendous emotional and financial misery.”
According to the spokesperson, his family will need to pay close to $1 million to support a legal team to carry on his legal dispute.
Duggan, a Boston native, spent 12 years as a US Marine before relocating to Australia in 2002. He decided to renounce his US citizenship in order to obtain Australian citizenship in January 2012.
Relief is in sight as the East Coast battles a “unseasonable” heatwave.
Late last year, a 2016 indictment from the US District Court in Washington, D.C., was made public. In it, the prosecution alleges that Duggan and others conspired to train Chinese military pilots in 2010 and 2012, as well as possibly at previous occasions, without obtaining the necessary authorization.
According to US prosecutors, Duggan got from a different conspirator roughly nine payments totaling about $88,000 as well as international travel for what was occasionally referred to as “personal development training.”
According to the accusation, Duggan visited the US, China, and South Africa and gave some training to Chinese pilots there.
Late last year, Defence Minister Richard Marles gave officials the go-ahead to look into any former Australian Defence Force personnel who may have trained Chinese military troops as well as review the legislation pertaining to former ADF members.
