Australia’s inspector general of intelligence and security has launched a formal investigation into the ongoing incarceration of Daniel Duggan, the Australian pilot fighting a US extradition request from prison, over allegations he trained Chinese aviators.
Duggan’s legal team has called for his extradition proceeding to be immediately abandoned. The 54-year-old has been incarcerated – much of it in isolation – for 157 days since being arrested in Orange in New South Wales last October.
Lawyer Dennis Miralis, acting for Duggan, said the office of Australia’s inspector general of intelligence and security (IGIS) has informed him that, following a preliminary inquiry into Duggan’s complaint regarding the lawfulness of his detention, it had commenced a formal investigation under the IGIS Act.
The IGIS has royal commission-like powers, including coercive powers such as compelling witnesses for examination, and compelling the production of records, Miralis said.
“It also has the power to enter national security agencies’ premises and remove classified documents.” Miralis said.
“It’s no trivial matter to have an inquiry into the conduct of a national security agency within the context of an extradition request being made by the US.”
Part of Duggan’s complaint relates to the circumstances of his return to Australia from China. His legal team has raised concerns an “unlawful lure” – in the form of an Asio clearance for an Australian aviation security identification card – may have been used to entice him back to Australia where he could be arrested on behalf of the US and extradited.
Such lures are legal in the US, but not under Australian law.
Miralis said he would write to federal attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, on Monday, requesting Duggan’s immediate release.
“We will be requesting that the attorney general and the US immediately end Dan Duggan’s extradition, in order to ensure the independence and integrity of the IGIS inquiry which has now commenced,” Miralis said.
“Independent inquiries enable IGIS to fully investigate a matter, consider its legality, propriety and appropriate regard for human rights, and make recommendations to remedy any issues identified. These matters strike at the very heart of the lawfulness or otherwise of Mr Duggan’s extradition.”
Duggan, 54, a former US marine pilot who is now a naturalised Australian, was arrested last October at the request of the US government, which is seeking his extradition on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering, arising from his alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots more than a decade ago. The allegations have not been tested in court.
Duggan, who has no criminal history anywhere in the world, has faced significant isolation in prison, having been classified as a high-risk prisoner. He denies the charges and is fighting his extradition from prison, a process that could take months, even years, to resolve.
The father of six Australian citizen children – aged between six and 18 – faces a potential 60-year prison term if convicted in the US.
He is currently held in isolation in the maximum security Lithgow prison. His 95-year-old mother, Anne, died this week in Boston. He will be unable to attend her funeral.
Duggan’s legal team has maintained the US extradition request is politically motivated, catalysed by the US’s deepening geopolitical contest with China. Australia’s extradition treaty with the US states that extradition requests should be refused if they are for an alleged “political offence”.
US-born Duggan served more than a decade flying in the US Marine Corps, rising to the rank of major and working as a military tactical flight instructor.
He left the marines in 2002 and moved to Australia, becoming an Australian citizen in 2012 and renouncing his US citizenship in 2017. He has lived in Australia and China since leaving the marines.
A 2017 US grand jury indictment alleges Duggan trained Chinese fighter pilots to land fighter jets on aircraft carriers, in defiance of arms trafficking laws, and engaged in a conspiracy to launder money.
The indictment details payments Duggan allegedly received in 2011 and 2012 for his work training Chinese fighter pilots at a test flight academy “based in South Africa, with a presence in the People’s Republic of China”.
He strenuously rejects the charges against him as being politically motivated and says the indictment against him is filled with “half-truths, falsehoods and gross embellishments”.
Duggan’s family has also said the cost of fighting a legal battle against the resources of the US government – likely more than $1m – has put the family in severe financial distress. The family is unable to access legal aid under extradition process rules, and has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help cover legal expenses.
