“But now the US has charged an Australian citizen, who was not in the US, of breaking US law? It’s absurd.”
He is being extradited to the U.S. and therefore will be on U.S. soil to be charged for breaking U.S. law.
So, a foreign citizen has to follow US law because they might be extradited to the US?
So, if you were extradited to China to be tried for criticizing the Chinese government, that would be OK?