Australia’s Home Affairs Minister okays Zentai extradition to Hungary

CANBERRA, Australia—Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor has approved the extradition of the Hungarian-born Perth resident Charles Zentai, 88, to Hungary but emphasized the decision was no indication of guilt.

Zentai has now two months to appeal the decision. Hungarian prosecutors accuse Australian citizen Charles Zentai, 88, of being one of three men who tortured and killed a Jewish teenager in Budapest in 1944 for not wearing a star identifying him as a Jew. At the time, he served in the Hungarian army which was allied with Nazi Germany.

O’Connor said Australia took war crimes seriously and would not be a haven for criminals.

Zentai, who immigrated to Australia in 1950, has always protested his innocence and said he had not been in Budapest at the time. He turned himself in to Australian police in the city of Perth last month after the Federal Court ruled he was eligible for extradition.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress