NEWCASTLE, Australia: Former US Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan will be extradited from Australia to the United States over allegations that he illegally trained Chinese aviators.
\nAustralia\u2019s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus approved the extradition on Monday, ending the Boston-born 55-year-old\u2019s nearly two-year attempt to avoid being returned to the US
\nDuggan, who served in the Marines for 12 years before immigrating to Australia and giving up his US citizenship, has been in a maximum-security prison since he was arrested in 2022 at his family home in the state of New South Wales. He is the father of six children.
\nDreyfus confirmed in a statement on Monday he had approved the extradition but did not say when Duggan would be transferred to the US
\n\u201cDuggan was given the opportunity to provide representations as to why he should not be surrendered to the United States. In arriving at my decision, I took into consideration all material in front of me,\u201d Dreyfus said in the statement.
\nIn May, a Sydney judge ruled Duggan could be extradited to the US, leaving an appeal to the attorney general as Duggan\u2019s last hope of remaining in Australia.
\nIn a 2016 indictment from the US District Court in Washington, D.C., unsealed in late 2022, prosecutors said Duggan conspired with others to provide training to Chinese military pilots in 2010 and 2012, and possibly at other times, without applying for an appropriate license.
\nProsecutors say he received payments totaling around 88,000 Australian dollars ($61,000) and international travel from another conspirator for what was sometimes described as \u201cpersonal development training.\u201d
\nIf convicted, Duggan faces up to 60 years in prison. He denies the allegations.
\n\u201cWe feel abandoned by the Australian government and deeply disappointed that they have completely failed in their duty to protect an Australian family,\u201d his wife, Saffrine Duggan, said in a statement on Monday. \u201cWe are now considering our options.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEWCASTLE, Australia: Former US Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan will be extradited from Australia to the United States over allegations that he illegally trained Chinese aviators. Australia\u2019s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus approved the extradition on Monday, ending the Boston-born 55-year-old\u2019s nearly two-year attempt to avoid being returned to the US Duggan, who served in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451155,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-451144","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n