The right to appeal a court ruling preventing extradition of Charles Zentai
may only be a token victory, with health experts to testify
the 90-year-old is unfit to travel.
The full bench of the High Court made the ruling on Friday granting federal Home
Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor special
leave to appeal in Sydney on Thursday.
The
family of Charles Zentai, who is accused of
murdering an 18-year-old Jewish man in November
1944 while serving in the Hungarian Army,
say he is too sick to return to Hungary and
may never leave Australia, despite any ruling.
Mr Zentai's
son, Ernie Steiner, told AAP on Friday that
his father's cardiologist would testify against
his extradition on health grounds.
“He's
not fit to travel and he shouldn't be placed
in those circumstances. It's life-threatening,”
Mr Steiner said.
“He
received a letter from his cardiologist last
week saying he wouldn't grant permission for
him to be extradited.
“That's
quite a change in his health assessment and
recognition of the strokes he's suffered over
the past 12 months.”
Mr Zentai
was arrested by Australian Federal Police
in 2005 to face extradition proceedings over
accusations that he had beaten the man to
death and thrown his body in the Danube River.
There
are no surviving witnesses to the alleged
murder.
The
federal government approved Mr Zentai's extradition
to Hungary in November 2009, but the decision
was overturned on appeal in the Federal Court
in August.
It found
the offence of “war crime” did not exist in
Hungarian law in November 1944, and that Mr
O'Connor could not subsequently approve Mr
Zentai's extradition.
Mr Steiner
said his father was “very disappointed” at
the latest ruling, but not surprised.
“We
didn't have great hopes of preventing the
minister from being granted special leave
from the High Court, but we were hoping that
wouldn't be the case,” he said.
Mr Steiner
said he believed the Australian government
was bowing to pressure from Israel, which
still pursues anyone alleged to have committed
crimes against Jews during World War II.
“I think
that's been the case all along,” he said.
Mr Steiner
said he expected Mr O'Connor to lodge an appeal
seeking extradition in April or May.
His
father would continue to fight extradition.
A spokeswoman
for Mr O'Connor welcomed the decision, saying
the Commonwealth was appealing against the
Federal Court's interpretation of an extraditable
offence.
“The
matter raises a significant issue for the
administration of Australia's extradition
regime,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.
She
said the government could not comment further
while the matter was before the courts.
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