Alleged war criminal to fight extradition from Australia

SYDNEY (AFP) - – Relatives of an 88-year-old alleged war criminal on Friday vowed to fight his extradition to Hungary after it was approved by Australian officials.

Ernie Steiner, son of Charles Zentai who is accused of beating a Jewish teenager to death during World War II, said he would "definitely" apply for a judicial review by the Federal Court.

"I would like the Hungarians to tell us how they could possibly give my father a fair trial in the absence of any living witnesses," Steiner told public broadcaster ABC.

"It's against the human rights conventions ... (that) require that for anyone to receive a fair trial they must have the right of being able to cross-examine witnesses who made statements against them," he added.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor approved the extradition late Thursday, stressing the move was no indication of guilt. Zentai has two months to appeal against the decision.

Zentai, who had been living quietly in Western Australia, is accused of the 1944 murder of Peter Balazs, 18, in Budapest while serving in the army of his native Hungary, then allied with Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany.

Steiner said a judicial review would allow the "whole suite of arguments" against his father's removal to be heard, and take the case outside the narrow legal confines of extradition law.

In particular it would be able to examine witness statements implicating Zentai, said Steiner, adding that his father had been made a "scapegoat" for the killing 65 years ago.

"We will exhaust all avenues, and particularly at this time because the basis on which we can make submissions and arguments on my father's behalf has really broadened," he said.

Zentai, who emigrated to Australia after the war, denies the accusation and claims he was not even in Hungary at the time of the murder. He has mounted a series of challenges since being ruled eligible for extradition last year.

Steiner said the case had exacted a heavy toll on his ageing father's health and he was not fit to travel to Hungary, which began extradition proceedings in March 2005.

The allegations were brought by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, the Jewish human rights organisation known for tracking down alleged Nazi war criminals.

Centre spokesman Efraim Zuroff said he was frustrated with Zentai's continued attempts to obstruct the case with irrelevant "legal and technical challenges".

"There's no connection between between them and the crime," Zuroff told Australian Associated Press.

But he said he was "ecstatic" with Australia's decision to approve the extradition, calling it a great day for Australia and Hungary, and for justice.