A former US military pilot accused by Washington of illegally training Chinese pilots believes his arrest was politically motivated and intends to fight extradition to the United States, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Daniel Edmund Duggan, arrested in Australia in October, is accused of violating a gun law.
Duggan, 54, was a Marine pilot for 12 years, including as a tactical flight instructor, rising through the ranks to major.
According to the indictment filed in 2016, a report of which was released in December, Mr Duggan violated US gun control laws by providing “defense services” to “foreign Chinese nationals” after leaving the army.
His attorney Dennis Miralis called his arrest Tuesday “arbitrary” and said it was an attempt by Washington to pressure Beijing.
“It appears to us that these indictments were brought at a time when a period of geopolitical tensions between the United States and China was beginning,” he told reporters after a brief court hearing in Sydney.
Me Miralis added that his client denies the charges against him and that he does not qualify for release “due to the political nature” of the charges.
Washington has claimed Mr Duggan received more than A$110,000 (C$102,000) between 2010 and 2012 to train Chinese “military pilots”.
According to the indictment, Mr Duggan trained the pilots both in China and at a flight school in South Africa.
According to the indictment, he was hired as an instructor according to “NATO standards” because of his experience in “naval aviation”.
The father of six moved to Australia in 2002 after leaving the Marines. He received Australian citizenship and worked for the company Top Gun Tasmania, which in particular offers flights on board fighter jets.
Australian company records show he moved to Beijing around 2014. He returned to Australia in October before being arrested a few weeks later at the request of the US government.
According to Me Miralis, he is considered “high risk” and is being held under very restrictive conditions.
Saffrine, wife of Daniel Duggan, has started an online petition calling on Australia’s Attorney General to release her husband and prevent his extradition