Nazi war crime suspect may face trial
Hungarian alleged to have murdered Jewish teen in Budapest in 1944 arrested in Australia, faces extradition to Hungary, process faces many appeals
CANBERRA, Australia - An 86-year-old man accused of war crimes in Hungary in 1944 has been arrested by Australian police, clearing the way for Hungarian authorities to seek his extradition to Budapest.
But Australian legal experts told News.com.au in Australia that Zentai, who is alleged to have murdered a Jewish teenager in Budapest in 1944, may not be extradited to Hungary for at least a year, if at all.
Australian Justice Minister Chris Ellison said a warrant was issued on Friday for the arrest of Hungarian-born Charles Zentai, a dual Australian-Hungarian national who emigrated to Australia in the 1950s.
Zentai, who has denied the accusation, was arrested at his home in the west Australian city of Perth.
An Australian court was then to rule on whether Zentai was eligible for extradition, after which Ellison would make a final decision on whether Zentai should be sent to Hungary to face trial.
Hungary issued an international arrest warrant in March for Zentai, also known as Karoly Zentai, who is accused of killing an 18-year-old Jewish man in a prison camp in Budapest in 1944 and of helping to dump the man's body in the River Danube.
"Australia is committed to meeting its treaty obligations to extradite to Hungary persons accused of serious crimes in Hungary," Ellison said in a statement.
Zentai was tracked down in Australia by the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center's "Operation Last Chance," launched in Hungary last July to find those responsible for the Holocaust in Nazi Germany's wartime ally.
Nazi troops occupied Hungary in March 1944 and within three months almost half a million Jews had been sent to concentration camps, with the collaboration of local authorities.
Zentai emigrated to Australia in the early 1950s, settling in Perth. He told Australian television he was innocent, did not know the victim, and was prepared to travel to Hungary to clear his name.
News.com.au in Australia reported that international humanitarian law expert Tim McCormack, who advised the Australian government in the case of alleged war criminal Konrad Kalejs, said Zentai's extradition could be more than a year away because of a potentially lengthy appeals process.
At Zentai's bail application on Friday, his lawyer, Michael Bowden, told the court his client was in poor health and had been admitted to hospital twice this year with heart problems, News.com.au reported.
Zentai's health could become crucial to whether he is extradited.
