A Perth man who is accused of committing a war crime 65 years ago has handed himself over to police while he waits to hear if he will be extradited to Hungary.

Charles Zentai, 88, is accused of murdering a Jewish teenager in November 1944.

He denies the claims and has fought the extradition order for the past four years.

It is alleged Mr Zentai murdered Peter Balasz in November 1944 because he was not wearing a yellow star.

Mr Zentai says he had left Budapest the day before the teenager was killed.

Mr Zentai's lawyer, Denis Barich, says his client will wait in jail until the Home Affairs Minister decides whether to uphold the extradition order.

Mr Zentai says he is innocent and it is unlikely he will get a fair trial in Hungary.

He told The World Today that he was worried about what might happen to him in the coming weeks.

"Where are they going to put me? Which kind of a jail or what sort of a treatment [am I] going to have? What sort of protection or representation [am I] going to get?" he said.

"It's not going to be a very pleasant time for me, considering my age, my health, my reasonably poor physical health. I might be sitting there for months."

Mr Zentai says if the minister decides he should be extradited he will seek to appeal the decision.

"I definitely will. Or else we'll try anything to get justice," he said.

He also says people who believe he should go back to Hungary to face justice do not really know the situation.

"They just have no idea, no idea how [the] situation in Hungary [is] not the best," he said.

"You may hear people saying here that it's a democratic country, but it's far from it."

'Eluding justice'

Mr Zentai was implicated during the post-war trials of two Hungarian Army comrades who were found guilty of the murder.

An arrest warrant was issued in 1948.

But an extradition request was not made until four years ago after the Simon Wiesenthal Centre brought the evidence to the attention of the Hungarian authorities.

The man who has been pushing the case is the centre's Dr Efraim Zuroff, who says it has been an incredibly frustrating process.

"None of the delays that took place had anything to do with the specific allegations against Mr Zentai," he said.

"In a case like this when the person is not young, every day that goes by only brings that person a day closer to eluding justice."

Dr Zuroff dismisses Mr Zentai's claims of ill health and says he will be able to get a fair trial in Hungary.

"There are cases like this that have been dealt with before and there's never been any problem," he said.

"There's no reason why Mr Zentai, who originally said that he was willing to go to Hungary to defend his name and to present his side of the story, shouldn't go to Hungary to do so."

If the family chooses to combat the minister's decision in the courts, which is possible, there could be a further delay.

abc.net.au