Contributed from Victoria

Too many Australians still don’t know who Daniel Duggan is, even if his case has significant repercussions and says a lot about how legal process is Australia is being transformed into something that we should all be worried about. Everyone should know more about what is happening to this man.

Daniel is a former American and now Australian citizen and a family. He was once a US marine, and since coming to Australia, built a pilot training business. This led him to a contract to for commercial pilot training in South Africa, with a company that goes by the name of the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA).

It happened that he had some of the students were Chinese citizens. Theis led authorities in Washington to accuse TFASA and Duggen of working with the Chinese to undermine United States policy. It led to action to capture Duggan, and it appears, with the assistance of the Australia Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), which is immersed in the United States led confrontation with China.

Through this agency Daniel Duggen was called and offered a job in Australia. He went for it, was arrested by federal police and imprisoned, wasn’t offered bail and has been kept in solitary confinement. Daniel has now been locked up in this way for more than 9 months, without an ending in sight.  He next faces court on 24 November.

The cover was the issuing of an Interpol red notice that provides for extradition on certain grounds. It excludes extradition in cases that are political. Australia also has an extradition treaty with the United States, and this too spells out that it does not allow extradition for any alleged “political offence.”

All of this is being violated.

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If the allegations have merit, surely there would have been an application made to the South African government to extradite the other parties to the contract? This has not been the case. Only the softest target in a country prepared to do whatever it was asked has been chosen.

Daniel’s family, lawyers, and supporters insist that this is a political case. They make a good point. The allegations made lend themselves to Washington’s geopolitical ambitions and propaganda war against China and can be used to make the inference that the Chinese are preparing to launch war, to beat up anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States.

Daniel Duggan is a soft target for the purpose.

The indictment against him revolves around the allegations that he provided training to pilots, and this included “instruction on the tactics, techniques and procedures associated with launching aircraft from, and landing aircraft on, a naval aircraft carrier.”

TFASA has responded with a statement and insists that it has never had anything to do with military training and that it operates in the commercial field. If this is the case, the accusation made against Duggan doesn’t hold water. But the allegation is there, and this has enabled the accusation that Washington’s target was involved in breaking its imposed trade embargo with China, and that this constitutes smalling. The second accusation is that since Duggan was paid for his work, he is accused involved in money laundering.

The indictment also notes that the accusations are justified because he did not obtain authorisation from the US state department’s Directorate of Defence Trade Controls to export defence services or providing training to Chinese nationals. Leaving aside the apart about defence services, the insistence that even someone who is not a citizen of the United States must obtain permission from the United States to trade in services. This does not meet the requirements of international law and protocols.

The father of six faces the possibility of being imprisoned for up to 60 years if he is extradited and faces court in the United States.

Photo from the Duggan family: The Duggan family together in better days

His wife, Saffrine Duggan, said they were determined to fight against the “terrible injustice.” 

She recently told a crowd of supporter’s that “the toll on our kids and family is horrendous.

“We are sad, and we’re mortified. We’re horrified that something like this could happen — not only to us but to anyone.”

The case raises two critical questions. How far has Australia’s capacity to make important decisions been compromised in the face of Washington’s geopolitical priorities, and to what extent will legal protections and processes be put aside to achieve this end? this is an unhealthy relationship.

These questions and the importance of justice being done are good reasons why All Australians should be very concerned.