THE SQUIZ

Lawyers for ex-US fighter pilot Daniel Duggan were in court in Sydney yesterday, arguing for Aussie officials to end an extradition request from his former country. Earlier this week, Duggan said he’s been “living a nightmare” since his detention in October last year after America’s FBI accused him of training foreign pilots, including from China. The case is a first for Australia, and the 54yo who flew for the US Marines (yes, just like Top Gun…) is fighting for his right to stay in regional NSW with his Aussie wife and their 6 children. 

I’LL NEED ANOTHER FLYOVER…

Duggan left the Marines in 2002 and became an Aussie citizen in 2012. At the centre of his extradition fight are claims that he provided training to Chinese pilots between 2009-12 in breach of American laws. Claims that former British, American, Kiwi, and Australian pilots are training the Chinese were made in October last year – the same month that Duggan was arrested after his lawyers say he was lured back to Oz from China. One of the ‘third-party’ schools mentioned was the Test Flying Academy of South Africa – a name that features in Duggan’s case. The US alleges that Duggan trained pilots at the school in an American T-2 Buckeye jet, and the school has since been put on a US ‘export control list’. And it’s not just a Duggan issue – Australia’s ASIO chief Mike Burgess has also said he’s watching a “small but concerning number” of Aussie veterans “willing to put cash before country”.

WHAT DOES DUGGAN SAY?

Duggan says he “strenuously rejects the indictment in its entirety” and that none of his training was top-secret. He reckons anybody “could Google it or look it up on Wikipedia”. Lawyers for Duggan have also weighed in – Bernard Collaery says that the extradition attempt makes Duggan “a pawn in this China game”. In other words, they reckon the US is trying to send a message to China and military veterans to stay away from each other. Outside the court yesterday were Duggan’s wife Saffrine and a handful of their kids holding signs saying “Let Him Go” and “Free My Dad!!!”. The extradition hearing is set for 24 November.