Alleged war criminal faces return to Hungary

Aug 20, 2008, 5:27 GMT

Sydney - An 86-year-old Australian citizen accused of killing a Jewish teenager in his native Hungary in 1944 lost his latest court battle Wednesday to prevent his extradition to face war crimes charges.

Charles Zentai, who was taken into custody in Perth and is to remain there until the appeals process runs its course, denied an accusation from the Simon Wiesenthal Centre that he participated in the fatal beating of 18-year-old Peter Balazs in Budapest.

Zentai and two fellow soldiers are alleged to have tortured and killed Balazs before dumping his body in the Danube River. His two alleged accomplices were jailed over the murder in the 1940s.

An extradition request for Zentai, who emigrated in 1950, was received from Hungary in 2005.

Outside the Perth court, Zentai's son, Gabriel Steiner, said his father was not in Budapest on the day of the killing.

'This is home,' Steiner said. 'He made a commitment to become an Australian citizen 50 years ago, and I think Australia needs to make some commitment to him as a citizen as well.'

He said Canberra should not make an old man with heart problems face a court in Hungary.

'We have faith in the Australian legal system but have no trust in the Hungarian government, who are willing to pursue an innocent man to this extent,' he said.