Family plead for alleged China pilot trainer's freedom
Daniel Duggan faces up to 60 years in prison for allegedly training Chinese military personnel in South Africa after leaving the US Marine Corps.
The father-of-six is fighting his extradition to the United States in the Federal Court after former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus ticked it off in December.
Charges and an indictment were first filed in a sealed court case in 2017 under the first Donald Trump administration, before Duggan was arrested and detained in 2022.
His wife Saffrine Duggan used the 1000-day milestone to beg Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Attorney-General Michelle Rowland to lobby for his release before he is sent to America.
She called the charges "politically motivated" and said they do not stack up.
"Surely that can't stand in free Australia. Surely Dan, me and our six kids have been failed by our government," she said.
"We often hear our prime minister advocating for Australians locked up by a foreign government.
"Why won't our own government advocate for us?"
Ms Duggan has written to Ms Rowland asking her to examine the facts of the case "and learn what we already know".
"Dan and my family should not be in this situation.
"Australia should be a place of strength, of freedom, independence and justice," she said.
Duggan was arrested in Australia in October 2022 after being accused of breaching US arms-trafficking laws by providing military training to Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012.
He had worked part-time as a flying instructor during the relevant period.
In a letter from prison in May, Duggan said he believed his activities were not illegal and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the US Naval Central Intelligence Service knew of his work.
He claimed ASIO agents brought up being able to meet Chinese generals and the topic of intelligence in a 2012 interview, leading him to believe they were trying to recruit him as a spy.
ASIO said it was unable to comment because the matter was before the court.
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