‘Veil of secrecy’ over incarcerated Top Gun pilot Daniel Duggan
The wife of a former US marine pilot who has been held in a maximum-security prison for almost 500 days has hit out at the “veil of secrecy” over his incarceration.
The wife of a former US marine pilot incarcerated in a maximum-security prison for nearly 500 days says her family is “heartbroken” by his treatment at the hands of the Australian government.
Daniel Edmund Duggan has been in custody since October 2022 after the US launched a bid to extradite him for charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering.
American authorities allege the 55-year-old breached money laundering and arms export control laws while teaching foreign pilots at an international flying academy more than 12 years ago.
He is also accused of breaching US arms control laws by instructing pilots, including Chinese nationals, on how to land atop an aircraft carrier.
The US authorities allege Mr Duggan was paid more than $110,000 for his expertise but had not sought US approval to teach foreign pilots.
The former fighter pilot has consistently denied the allegations, which have not been tested in court.
Standing outside Sydney Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday, Mr Duggan’s wife Saffrine said her husband was “suffering terribly”.
“Every day, I ask myself how can this be happening to my family?” she said. “He is suffering terribly and so are we.”
She said there was a “veil of secrecy” over her husband’s “inhumane incarceration” and called for an end to the “skull and dagger skulduggery”.
Mr Duggan’s legal bill for fighting extradition was “approaching a million dollars already”, Magistrate Daniel Reiss told the court.
The court heard the former fighter pilot had made an application for Legal Aid, which provides legal assistance and funding for people without the means to pay for it themselves.
Mr Reiss noted it was unusual to see an application partway through proceedings for Legal Aid “to pick up the tab”.
The court was told Mr Duggan’s home was subjected to a freezing order in December last year that prohibits the family from selling the asset to pay his legal fees.
The order was made at the request of the US authorities, who claim the NSW south coast property was bought with the proceeds of Mr Duggan’s alleged crimes.
Mr Duggan’s lawyer Jolan Draaisma said Legal Aid had asked for more information about the case in order to determine whether her client should receive funding.
She told the court a decision would be made in the next three months.
The US government’s lawyer Trent Glover objected to Ms Draaisma’s request for the matter to be adjourned to allow her client to obtain funding.
Mr Duggan will return to court in April for an argument about a further adjournment.
The Duggan family’s lawyer Howard Adams told reporters the US government had forced Mr Duggan to apply for legal aid and was now “bizarrely” blocking his path.
“If the matter is delayed, the only person that’s really going to suffer any prejudice is Dan Duggan,” he said outside court.
“As you can imagine, he’s feeling an immense amount of frustration about what’s going on at the moment.”
A magistrate in the local court will determine whether Mr Duggan is legally eligible for surrender to the US, but the ultimate decision will fall to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.
Mr Duggan had been held in isolation at a maximum-security prison for almost 500 days “without local charges, convictions or criminal background of any kind”, his wife explained.
She highlighted the US government’s freezing order on her home as an attempt “to try and cripple us and make it impossible for us to fight them”.
Mr Duggan spent 12 years flying in the US Marines before he was honourably discharged in 2002. He subsequently moved to Australia with his family and relinquished his US citizenship.
The former operator of Top Gun Tasmania had been living in Orange, in central west NSW, with his wife and six children when he was arrested.