Hungary for the extradition of an alleged Nazi war criminal, an Australian daily reported, Wednesday, April 27. The Hungarian justice ministry lodged a formal request with the Australian government last month to extradite 86-year-old Perth resident Charles Zentai, The Australian newspaper said. A Hungarian military court issued an international arrest warrant, BosNewsLife monitored earlier.
Zentai, a former soldier in the Hungarian Army, has been accused by the Nazi hunting Simon Wiesenthal Centre, of killing an 18-year-old Jewish man in Hungary in 1944.
The young victim is said to have been killed because he failed to wear the Star of David required in countries controlled by the Nazis to identify Jews. Brad Burke, a spokesman for Justice Minister Chris Ellison, said that "for legal and operational reasons" they could not confirm the report, the French News Agency (AFP) reported.
"PASSAGE OF TIME"
The Australian quoted the Wiesenthal Centre’s chief Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff as saying that "the passage of time in no way diminishes the severity of the crimes committed during the Holocaust and the importance of holding the perpetrators of those crimes accountable."
He told BosNewsLife earlier in Budapest that Nazi suspects often portray themselves as "weak and old", while in reality, he said, they "enjoyed a wonderful life" with children and grand children while others were killed. His organization launched in recent years Operation Last Chance to encourage former Communist nations like Hungary and other countries to arrest Nazi suspects.
"The extradition request submitted by Hungary creates an excellent opportunity for Australia to take successful legal action for the first time against a Nazi war criminal," Zuroff told The Australian. It remains unclear if authorities are prepared to fulfill Hungary’s request as Australia has not previously extradited any alleged Nazi war criminals, AFP noted.
POLICE STILL SEARCHING
Hungarian News Agency MTI claimed recently that Australian police had been "unable" to find the Nazi suspect. Zentai, a widower and former mental health nurse in Perth, has denied any wrongdoing and said in January he was prepared to travel to Hungary to clear his name, The Australian reported
Hungary was a close ally of Nazi Germany during World War Two when an estimated 600,000 Hungarian Jews were massacred. This month it held a Holocaust Memorial Week to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the war and urge future generations never to forget what is seen as one of the darkest chapters in its recent history. (With reports from Sydney and BosNewsLife Research)
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