March 3, 2005
 
  Wiesenthal Center Welcomes Decision by Hungarian Judge to Issue International Arrest Warrant for “Operation: Last Chance” Suspect Charles Zentai

 
 


The Simon Wiesenthal Center welcomed the issue today by the Hungarian authorities of an international arrest warrant for Charles Zentai, who was identified in the framework of the Center’s “Operation: Last Chance” project as an escaped Nazi war criminal who actively participated in the persecution and murder of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust.

In a statement issued in Jerusalem by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center expressed its satisfaction with the latest development in the case, which it had initiated following receipt in the framework of “Operation: Last Chance” of evidence regarding Zentai’s involvement in Holocaust crimes.

“Hungary has taken the requisite first step today toward bringing this suspected murderer to justice and we are hopeful that he will finally be held accountable for his crimes, preferably in Hungary where they were committed. We congratulate the Hungarian judicial authorities and military prosecutor for their prompt action to date, and urge them to take whatever steps are necessary to expedite the process of extradition and prosecution. The fact that Zentai has hereto eluded justice for so many years, in no way diminishes his culpability and should not be a factor in this case,” said Zuroff.

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156 / www.operationlastchance.org