The lawyer for former US Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan mentioned he was “singled out” for extradition to america to face costs of coaching Chinese language navy fliers, regardless that different Australians supplied navy providers to overseas states.
Australia’s attorney-general final month accepted an extradition request from Washington for Duggan, who was arrested in rural Australia in October. He stays in custody in Sydney, and his subsequent court docket date is on Feb. 13.
Duggan is accused of coaching Chinese language pilots to land on plane carriers, and faces costs of cash laundering and breaking US arms management legal guidelines in america, according to a 2017 indictment unsealed in December.
He was arrested the identical week that Britain introduced a crackdown on former navy pilots coaching Chinese language fliers.
Duggan’s lawyer Dennis Miralis mentioned exterior a Sydney court docket on Tuesday that Duggan “contests and denies” the US allegations, and supposed to contest the extradition request.
“He has clearly, in our view, been singled out in circumstances the place the Division of Protection has admitted that it has recognized of many Australian residents who’ve carried out overseas providers in different jurisdictions with overseas states of a navy nature,” he advised reporters.
The protection minister’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Australia launched a overview into the obligations former Defence Pressure personnel have to guard state secrets and techniques, after reviews Australians had been amongst Western navy pilots who had been approached to assist practice the Chinese language navy.
Duggan was arrested in rural Australia in October after getting back from China, the place he had lived since 2014.
He grew to become an Australian citizen after serving within the Marines for 12 years, and later renounced his US citizenship.
The ultimate choice to give up Duggan could be made by the attorney-general after the court docket decides whether or not he’s eligible to be extradited, Miralis mentioned.
