Today the Federal Court in Perth rejected Charles Zentai’s latest appeal; he is challenging his extradition on technical issues. But he points out that he cannot present his own evidence in an Australian court. Charles Zentai is alleged to have killed a Jewish civilian during the Second World War, when he was serving in the Hungarian army.

Transcript
KERRY O'BRIEN, PRESENTER: The case of a Perth man wanted in Hungary to face a murder charge related to World War II has highlighted what some observers argue are flaws in the extradition process. Charles Zentai is alleged to have beaten to death a Jewish teenager during the war while serving in the Hungarian army. He's denied the charge and recently underwent a lie detector test in an attempt to show he was telling the truth. The 87-year-old is challenging his extradition on technical grounds, but says he can't present his own evidence in an Australian court. Today, the Federal Court in Perth rejected his latest appeal.

David Webber reports.

CHARLES ZENTAI’S SON: My father's not a criminal; he's an innocent man. It's a horrible experience to have to go through.

DAVID WEBBER, REPORTER: After a four year battle costing tens of thousands of dollars, the case of accused war criminal Charles Zentai could still be far from over. While his family considers an appeal to the full bench of the Federal Court to halt his extradition to Hungary, others argue it's a major test for Australia's legal system.

MARK IERACE, FORMER ATTORNEY, UN CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL: Australia and Hungary have ratified international human rights instruments that guarantee a fair trial. So this would be contrary to those commitments.

EFRAIM ZUROFF, SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTRE: You have to look at him and not be fooled by the fact that he looks like a kindly old grandfather.

DAVID WEBBER: In 1944, as Soviet armies advanced across Eastern Europe, Hungary was still an ally of Nazi Germany.

CHARLES ZENTAI, ACCUSED (archive footage, 7.30 Report, 20 May, 2008): As a soldier, I just had to carry out orders. And - but none of those orders I was given had anything to do with rounding up Jews or torturing them or anything like that.

DAVID WEBBER: Charles Zentai was one of thousands who fled the Russian advance and ended up in Australia as a refugee. In 1947, Hungary's new Communist government charged the former army officer in his absence with the murder of Peter Balazs, an 18-year-old Jewish youth. Charles Zentai maintains he was not in Budapest when the killing took place.

JOURNALIST: Were you ever involved in the rounding up and beating of Jewish people in Hungary.

CHARLES ZENTAI: Of course not. No, I was not. No.

JOURNALIST: Were you involved with the murder of Peter Balazs.

CHARLES ZENTAI: Definitely not. I'm innocent of that accusation.

DAVID WEBBER: Hungary wants Charles Zentai to be extradited to face the murder charge. But there are questions as to whether he can get a fair trial.

MARK IERACE: To have no witnesses in relation to these key events of the killing would be contrary to the basic principles of a fair trial.

DAVID WEBBER: Mark Ierace worked at the prosecution office in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He says the case highlights a weakness in Australia's extradition laws.

MARK IERACE: Had the law allowed him to raise this fundamental issue in his case of whether the trial would be fair, he could have done so at the outset, he could have done so years ago. And the court could've then considered whether any trial that took place ultimately would've been fair or not and that could well have been the end of the matter. As it is, because there's no provision in the law, if the courts decide that he is to be extradited under the law as it is, it comes down to the discretion of the Minister.

DAVID WEBBER: Mark Ierace says if Mr Zentai were to be convicted in Budapest, it would probably be overturned.

MARK IERACE: Whether it's a military court or a civilian court, is that both of them, ultimately, come under the international - the European Court of Human Rights. And, Zentai, if he survived long enough, would have a right of appeal to that court.

DAVID WEBBER: The case has been pushed by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, famous for catching high-profile Nazis like Adolf Eichmann. Its Israeli chief, Efraim Zuroff, says if Charles Zentai is innocent, he should have no qualms about returning to Budapest.
EFRAIM ZUROFF: His initial reaction was, "I want to go to Hungary to clear my name." But it's very interesting: once Hungary asked for his extradition, Mr Zentai has not shown any willingness to appear in court.

DAVID WEBBER: The direct evidence against Mr Zentai came from two comrades - Lior Snodge and Bella Marda (phonetic spelling) - who were convicted of the murder after the war. Mr Zentai's family says they were most likely tortured.

EFRAIM ZUROFF: That is a totally baseless assertion, and it's part of a very well-orchestrated campaign by the family to do everything possible to undermine the attempts to bring this person to justice.

DAVID WEBBER: But it is known that the Communist authorities in Hungary after the war did torture people, and one of the statements from Snodge asserts that he was.

Charles Zentai says he wants to present evidence in court in Australia, but the way the extradition process works means he can't do that.

CHARLES ZENTAI: The extradition law is flawed. It gives no opportunity to the accused to defend himself.

FERGUS HANSON, RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, LOWY INSTITUTE: It will be the first time that Australia's ever extradited a suspected war criminal, if of course the extradition goes ahead. Having said that, there are some - possibly some difficulties with the case. Some of the reports I've read suggest that possibly all the witnesses are now dead, which would make the case very difficult to conduct in an Australian court, for example.

DAVID WEBBER: The Sydney think tank the Lowy Institute recently produced a report calling for Australia to set up a dedicated war crimes unit within the AFP.

Fergus Hanson says the eyes of the international community are on how Australia handles the Zentai case.

FERGUS HANSON: Australia's certainly been criticised in the past for failing to take action against Nazi war crime suspects. This would be the first successful action against a suspected Nazi war criminal living in Australia. It also speaks to our wider reputation.

DAVID WEBBER: Are you scared of the possibility that you may be forced to go back to Hungary at some stage?

CHARLES ZENTAI: Well, I hope not.

EFRAIM ZUROFF: Every victim of the Nazis deserves that an effort be made to find them, to find the people who turned them into victims, and hold them accountable. And that's precisely what this is about.

KERRY O'BRIEN: David Weber reporting from Perth.

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