Challenge to Australian Federal Police Raid Over Chinese Pilot Training Fails

A former fighter pilot suspected of helping train Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) pilots has failed in a court challenge to the validity of an Australian Federal Police (AFP) raid on his home.

The AFP executed a search warrant and seized items from the home of Keith Hartley, chief operating officer of the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), in November 2022.

The warrant said Hartley was suspected of breaking commonwealth law by organising and facilitating training to PLA pilots “in regard to military aircraft platforms and military doctrine, tactics and strategy”.

Hartley sought a Federal Court order quashing the warrant, declaring it invalid and restraining the AFP from using any material seized.

Hartley has denied any criminal offence, and his lawyers argued in court that the warrant was ambiguous and misstated the alleged offence.

But in a judgment delivered in Sydney on April 28, Justice Wendy Abraham said Hartley had not established the warrant was invalid.

The sole ground of the invalidity claim was the allegation that the warrant did not sufficiently state an offence.

“It states conduct capable of constituting an offence, and it does so with a reasonable degree of precision,” Abraham said, in dismissing his application.

Hartley’s South Australian address was redacted from the judgment.

The judgment was delivered hours after the family of another ex-fighter pilot Daniel Duggan, who is facing extradition over accusations he trained Chinese military pilots, protested outside the United States embassy in Canberra.