The United States has demanded that Australia extradite a former US Marine who violated US arms control laws by training Chinese fighter pilots.
Duggan says he has not broken any laws and his lawyer maintains the charges are politically motivated. Various countries, including Australia and the UK, have been warning air force personnel about entering into similar lucrative contracts.
Dugan is facing four charges in the United States related to “military training,” which U.S. officials say he trained Chinese pilots at a “test flying academy” in South Africa more than a decade ago.
Earlier this week, Reuters reported on the contents of the indictment against Dugan, which alleged that he had not obtained permission from the US government to provide military training to China, even though the US The State Department informed him by email in 2008 that he needed government permission to train foreign air forces.
Duggan’s lawyer, Denise Miralles, says it would be a “travesty of justice” if he is sent to face trial in the United States. They say Australia should oppose extradition because there is no statute in Australian law dealing with such charges.
He said that ‘Australia has not imposed an arms embargo on China, Australia has not imposed other sanctions on China, so extradition should be refused on the basis that it does not meet the requirements of double crimes’.
But Australia is also trying to overcome this trend. Australia’s defense minister last month announced a review of privacy policies in the country’s defense forces after reports that Australian veterans were being lured into providing training.
Richard Marles said, ‘Let me make it clear that Australians who work or have worked for the government in any capacity and who are privy to national secrets have a responsibility to take those secrets to their new job. keep separate from.’
In October, Britain also issued an intelligence alert warning ex-military pilots against working for the Chinese military.
Miralles also said he would file a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Commission about the “inhumane” treatment of Dogan while in custody. He claimed that Dogan was not being given medical attention.
Duggan will go on trial in a Sydney court on December 20, five days before the Australian government’s deadline for a decision on the extradition request.
