close up of Charles Zentai's face

Accused Perth war criminal Charles Zentai was ‘a loving man’ claim family

The family of an accused Perth war criminal say he was a loving parent wrongly pursued for a crime he did not commit.

But Jewish groups say Charles Zentai should have been extradited to face claims he murdered a young man in nazi-occupied Budapest during World War II, while warning Australia remains a haven for criminals from many more recent conflicts.

Mr Zentai died in Perth last week, aged 96.

He was the subject of a high-profile war crimes saga that attracted international attention.

The former Hungarian army conscript was accused of beating Jewish teenager Peter Balazs to death and throwing his body in the Danube River in 1944, allegedly because he was not wearing the Star of David identifier demanded by the nazis of Jews at the time.

Read the full article by Nick Butterly at The West Australian.