Ex-Marine Pilot Daniel Duggan Denied Extradition Appeal in Australia

Australian judge dismisses former Marine’s extradition appeal

An Australian judge has rejected an appeal by Daniel Duggan, a former U.S. Marine Corps pilot, to avoid being extradited to the United States over allegations of illegally training Chinese military aviators.

Duggan is accused of instructing at the Test Flying Academy of South Africa and denies the charges as political posturing from the U.S., according to his wife Saffrine Duggan.

Justice James Stellios ruled that no jurisdiction error was made in 2024 by then Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who ordered Duggan’s extradition.

Saffrine Duggan told reporters outside the court in Canberra that her husband’s lawyers would consider a further appeal and asked Dreyfus’s successor as attorney-general, Michelle Rowland, to reverse the order.

Rowland’s office confirmed the ruling and stated Daniel Duggan will remain in custody until his surrender to the U.S.

The 2016 indictment alleges Duggan conspired with others to provide training to Chinese military pilots without a license. Prosecutors claim he received nine payments totaling around $61,000 for “personal development training.”

Duggan, born in Boston and serving in the Marines for 12 years before migrating to Australia in 2002, has been held in maximum security prisons since his arrest in 2022.