84-year-old faces extradition to Hungary

An Australian court on Wednesday refused to halt extradition proceedings for an 84-year-old Hungarian immigrant accused of torturing and killing a Jewish teenager during World War II.

Charles Zentai, a Hungarian-born Australian citizen, has been under investigation by Hungary's Foreign Ministry since December 2004 on suspicion of killing Peter Balazs in Budapest in 1944 for failing to wear a yellow star identifying him as a Jew.

The Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center alleges that Zentai, then a soldier, tortured and fatally beat the 18-year-old in a Budapest army barracks.

Zentai, who emigrated to Australia in 1950, has denied the allegations.

Appearing before the Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Zentai's lawyers said they planned to appeal the case to Australia's High Court, and asked the judge to halt the extradition proceedings pending the challenge.

Magistrate Graeme Calder rejected the request, saying he "was concerned that the time is passing" and that there was no guarantee the High Court would agree to hear the case.

Zentai was to face an extradition hearing before the Perth Magistrates Court in February, but the proceedings were delayed when his lawyers challenged the court's authority to hear the case. The Federal Court rejected the challenge.

Calder ordered Zentai to reappear in court on Aug. 7.