Former US Marine pilot loses appeal against extradition from Australia

A former U.S. Marine Corps pilot on Thursday lost an appeal against his extradition from Australia to the United States on charges of violating U.S. arms control laws while training Chinese pilots.



Daniel Duggan, a naturalised Australian citizen, was arrested in the state of New South Wales in October 2022 by Australian Federal Police on a U.S. request, shortly after returning from China, where he had lived since 2014.



In December 2024, Australia's then attorney-general Mark Dreyfus approved a U.S. extradition request for him.



Duggan challenged the extradition decision, arguing it was invalid because the attorney-general made legal errors by failing to properly apply the country's Extradition Act in light of the extradition treaty between Australia and the United States. But Federal Court of Australia Judge James Stellios dismissed his appeal on Thursday, finding no errors in the decision.



"I am not persuaded that the impugned decisions were infected by jurisdictional error. Therefore, the application must be dismissed," he said. A spokesperson for Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the government noted the Federal Court's ruling.



"Mr Duggan will remain in extradition custody in Australia until his surrender to the United States of America," they said in a statement.



Duggan, who has six children in Australia, has been in custody since his arrest.