ACCUSED war criminal Charles Zentai has called on the government to reveal if it will continue to push for his extradition to Hungary.

The demand follows a court ruling that he should not be surrendered.

The 88-year-old said yesterday there had been enough time for the commonwealth to decide whether to appeal his July 2 win in the Federal Court, which quashed a decision by Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor that Mr Zentai was eligible for extradition.

"Still I'm left up in the air because of the government stretching out the case so much, unable or unwillingly to make a decision since the 2nd of July," Mr Zentai said.

According to court rules, the government has until January 24 to lodge an appeal, but Mr Zentai said this left him in limbo over the festive season.

Mr O'Connor said he would seek legal advice and consider whether to appeal. "I'll be considering that matter properly before I'll be making any comments," he said.

Yesterday, Federal Court judge Neil McKerracher ruled that if the government did not appeal by the January 24 deadline then Mr Zentai should be considered a free man and released from his current bail conditions. "It is not evident why Mr Zentai should not 'enjoy the fruits of his victory' in the usual way," he said in his decision.

The court also awarded costs to Mr Zentai related to the July 2 decision. Mr Zentai's son, Ernie Steiner, said the amount would fall well short of the more than $200,000 his family had spent. "My father has lost his entire life savings through this whole six-year period, so those sorts of things won't be covered through this decision," Mr Steiner said.

Since his arrest in 2005, Mr Zentai has been fighting extradition to Hungary to face allegations he participated in the murder of Jewish teenager Peter Balazs on November 8, 1944.

Mr Zentai's lawyer, Denis Barich, said he was surprised that the commonwealth had yet to make a decision on whether to appeal, given the original decision was handed down in July.

"They've had six months to decide, but they will be forced to make a decision in a few weeks," he said. "Hopefully, they will do the sensible thing and decide just to drop this matter. If they do appeal, given my client's age, his health and the Federal Court's findings, I think it will be a waste of taxpayers' money for my client to be put in a process where he would have to be further vindicated again."

Mr Zentai, who has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, said yesterday that the extradition process had been unlawful.

"I am innocent, I was always innocent. The case taken against me was unlawful. I was unlawfully arrested, unlawfully imprisoned," he said.

"My family was put in a horrific event of stress, so was myself."

Mr Zentai thanked his legal team, including QC Malcolm McCusker, who took on the case pro bono earlier this year. He said he did not feel like a free man yet because he would be tied to his bail conditions until the appeal deadline expired in the new year.

theaustralian.com.au