Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today harshly denounced the call yesterday by Hungarian MP Marton Gyöngyösi, foreign affairs spokesperson for the anti-Semitic and anti-Roma party Jobbik, for the government to create a registry of Jewish members of parliament and government officials because such persons constitute a national security risk.

In a statement issued here today by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center condemned the statement by Gyöngyösi as something "sadly reminiscent of the genocidal Nazi regime which murdered hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews with the help of numerous local collaborators."

According to Zuroff:

"The fact that after making such a demand in the Hungarian Parliament Gyöngyösi has not been forced to resign, is a sad commentary on the current rise of anti-Semitism in Hungary, which is being propagated primarily by the Jobbik party, the heirs of the fascist Arrow Cross. Today's condemnation of the statement by the government is welcome, but the total silence yesterday and the fact that the perpetrator of anti-Semitic incitement will apparently pay no price for his demagoguery will only encourage Jobbik to continue their campaigns of hatred against Hungarian Jews and Roma."

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www.operationlastchance.org         www.wiesenthal.com

Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today harshly condemned the recent unveiling in the city of Bauska, Latvia, of a memorial monument honoring Latvians who served in the Waffen-SS during World War II. In a statement issued here today by its Israel director, Holocaust historian Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center described the new monument as a gross insult to the memory of the Nazis’ numerous victims in Latvia, many of whom were murdered by Latvians who later served in the Latvian Waffen-SS divisions.

According to Zuroff:
“The initiative in Bauska to honor Latvians who fought for a victory of the Third Reich, the most genocidal regime in history, is in stark contrast to the refusal of the local authorities to facilitate an attempt by Jewish former residents of the city to commemorate the Bauska Jews murdered during the Holocaust. The Wiesenthal Center stands in solidarity with the Latvian Council of Jewish Communities which protested this total failure to correctly distinguish between the victims and perpetrators of World War II to Latvian President Berzins and Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development Sprudzis.”

For more information call 00-972-50-721-4156
www.operationlastchance.org         www.wiesenthal.com

Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center announced today that its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, last week submitted new evidence to the prosecutor in Budapest regarding crimes committed during World War II by its No. 1 Most Wanted suspect Laszlo Csatary, who served as a senior Hungarian police officer in the Slovakian city of Kosice, then under Hungarian rule. In a statement issued here today, the Center noted that the evidence submitted by Zuroff to Prosecutor Dr. Gabor Hetenyi related to Csatary’s key role in the deportation of approximately 300 Jews from Kosice to Kamenetz-Podolsk, Ukraine, where almost all were murdered in the summer of 1941. At their meeting Zuroff urged the Hungarian authorities to expedite the ongoing investigation against Csatary, which was initiated in September 2011 following his submission of evidence regarding Csatary’s residence in Budapest and the former police officer’s role in the deportations of thousands of Jews from Kosice and its environs to the Auschwitz death camp in the spring of 1944.

According to Zuroff, “This new evidence strengthens the already very strong case against Csatary and reinforces our insistence that he be held accountable for his crimes. The passage of time in no way diminishes his guilt and old age should not afford protection for Holocaust perpetrators.”

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Novi Sad, Serbia-The Simon Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director, Dr. Efraim Zuroff, stressed the role of memory in assuring that the crimes of he Holocaust would not be erased or forgotten in his remarks at the memorial ceremony held here today to mark the 70th anniversary of the mass murder by Hungarian forces of Jewish, Serb, and Roma civilians in this Serbian city on January 23, 1942. Zuroff stressed that the recent acquittal in July 2011 in Budapest of Hungarian gendarmerie officer Sandor Kepiro, who was one of the organizers of the massacre, and his subsequent burial as a heroic patriot, threatened to erase ths terrible crime and absolve the killers of their guilt.

Dr. Zuroff's speech deliverd today to a crowd of hundrerds in Novi Sad:

Today we mark the 70th anniversary of the horrific crimes committed by the Hungarian army and gendamerie on the banks of the Danube, not far from where we are currently standing. Those crimes were the product of politics and prejudice, an opportunistic alliance between Hungary and Nazi Germany and the racism, anti-Semitism, and extremism of the Third Reich and its allies.

Seventy years is ostensibly a very long time, for many people an entire lifetime if not more, and there are those who would prefer that such terrible and tragic events be forgotten. Even worse, there are those who justify such crimes and consider their perpetrators heroes. Not long ago, Sandor Kepiro, one of these so- called Hungarian "heroes" died while his case was being appealed in Budapest, a case in which he was charged for his active role in the roundup of innocent citizens of Novi Sad-Jews, Serbs, and Roma//men, women, and children, who were marched to the river to be murdered. He claimed that his assignment was to search for terrorists, dangerous people like 10 year old Lydia Brenners, 9 year old Dorothea Pintar, and 6 year old Arthur Rosenthal.

Kepiro's funeral was attended by many people who believed that he did his duty and was a true Hungarian patriot, some of whom even came wearing the same gendarmerie uniform Kepiro wore, when he did his share to doom innocent people to death, the same uniforms worn by the Hungarian gendarmes, who two years later organized the deportation of the Jews of Novi Sad to Auschwitz. Indeed heroes and patriots. There are two acceptable responses to the terrible crimes committed seventy years ago-justice and memory. But justice, as we saw last July in the Buda District Court, can be severely flawed. Judge Varga admitted that Sandor Kepiro was not innocent, but after he outrageously disqualified all the documents and testimony against him, he decreed that the prosecution had failed to prove his guilt.

So that leaves us with memory, which is why our presence here united is so critical. And it is from here, so close to the site of the murders, that we must declare loud and clear that no flawed and
politicized verdict can change the facts and the guilt of the perpetrators, nor can it erase the memory of the victims which will remain in our hearts forever.

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Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center tonight expressed it sense of deep frustration upon learning of the death in Budapest yesterday morning of accused, and previously convicted, Hungarian Nazi war criminal Dr.(of law) Sandor Kepiro, who was charged this year by Hungarian prosecutors with responsibilty for the murder of at least 36 persons during a massacre carried out by Hungarian forces in the Serbian city of Novi Sad on January 23, 1942. Last month a judge ruled in a Budapest court that while Kepiro was not innocent, the Hungarian prosecutors had failed to convincingly prove his guilt, but appeals had been launched by both the prosecution and the defense, and it was likely that they would be heard within the next few weeks. In a statement issued here tonight by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director, Dr. Efraim Zuroff, who discovered Kepiro and led the efforts to convince the Hungarian authorities to bring him to trial, the Center noted that it was likely that Kepiro's initial acquittal would have been overturned upon appeal and expressed its deep disappointment that his death prevented his conviction and punishment.

According to Zuroff:
" Kepiro's acquittal last month was not only a terrible travesty of justice which insulted the memory of the victims of the mass murder carried out by the Hungarian forces, and encouraged those who seek to deny Hungarian participation in Holocaust crimes, but also was in direct contradiction to voluminous historical and judicial evidence collected over the years, most of which was the basis for his original conviction in a Hungarian court in January 1944. Thus it is a fair assumption that the acquittal could well have been overturned on appeal, and Kepiro would have been once again convicted for his role in the Novi Sad mass murder. His death has unfortunately prevented such a decision, which would not only have focused attention on the active role of Hungarian Nazi collaborators in the mass murder of innocent civilians, primarily Jews, during World War II, but also would have ensured that the criminal responsibilty of one of the officers who was an active participant in these crimes would have been confirmed, for the first time ever, since democracy in a Hungarian court of law."

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Budapest – the Simon Wiesenthal Center described the acquittal here today of former Hungarian Gendarmerie officer Sandor Kepiro as an outrageous miscarriage of justice which directly contradicts the extensive evidences of Kepiro’s direct involvement and responsibility in the January 23, 1942 massacre of at least 1,246 innocent residences of the Serbian city of Novi Sad.
In a statement issued here today by its chief Nazi hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center noted that Kepiro had already been convicted in 1944 and 1946 in connection with his role in the massacre (although not for war crimes) and that the verdict would be appealed.

According to Zuroff: ”today’s verdict is an insult to the memory of the Novi Sad massacre and a sad day for Hungarian society. A judicial decision which brings joy to the ultra nationalists of Hungary and pain to the victims of fascist crimes is inherently flawed and the Center will do whatever he can to help to change it as quickly as possible.”

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Budapest-Judge Viktor Vadasz of the District Court of Pest this afternoon acquitted the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff of libel charges filed against him by accused Hungarian Nazi war criminal Dr. Sandor Kepiro, whom Zuroff exposed in 2006 and who will be facing criminal charges in a Budapest court this coming Thursday, May 5. In his verdict Judge Vadasz noted that Zuroff had acted in good faith by first contacting the Hungarian prosecutors after discovering that Kepiro had returned to Hungary from Argentina, before notifying the media.

According to Zuroff:
Needless to say, I am relieved to have been acquitted, but the most important issue is Kepiro’s guilt which will be hopefully established by a criminal court in his trial which begins Thursday morning. This has been a long and frustrating process, which began in the summer of 2006, but I am hopeful that justice will finally be achieved. That is what the victims of the massacre in Novi Sad deserve and that is what I have been fighting for from the very beginning of this process.

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Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today expressed its deep satisfaction that the number one suspect on its list of most wanted Nazi war criminals, former Hungarian gendarmerie officer Dr. Sandor Kepiro, was officially charged with war crimes today in Budapest in connection with his role in the mass murders of hundreds of innocent civilians carried out by Hungarian military and gendarmerie forces in the area of the Serbian city of Novi Sad in late January 1942. In a statement issued here today by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, who tracked down Kepiro and in August 2006 informed the Hungarian justice authorities that he was residing in Budapest, the Center noted the significance of theindictment and its importance for the victims of Kepiro’s crimes and their families, as well as for Hungarian and Serbian society.

According to Zuroff:
“My thoughts today are with the people of Novi Sad and their families, the victims of the mass murders carried out by the Hungarian forces in January 1942. It is they who so deserve that justice finally be achieved in this case, so that they can finally achieve a measure of closure, even if it is many years after the crimes. The indictment of Kepiro also sends a powerful message that the passage of time does not diminish the guilt of the killers and that old age should not protect those who committed such heinous crimes. For the past more than four years, I have waited for this news and now we finally can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

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Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today praised Australian Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O”Conner for appealing the recent decision by a Perth court which would have prevented the extradition to Hungary of suspected Nazi war criminal Charles Zentai, who has been accused of murdering an 18 year old Jewish boy named Peter Balazs, whom he caught on a Budapest streetcar without the yellow star required of all Jews. In a statement issued here today by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center praised the perseverance of the Australian and Hungarian authorities in this case and noted that the decision reinforces the important principle that the passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of Holocaust perpetrators.

According to Zuroff:
“Minister O’Conner has wisely not been persuaded by the disinformation campaign launched on behalf of Mr. Zentai by his family and supporters who are determined to prevent him from facing justice. There is an abundance of evidence which points unequivocally to Zentai’s active participation in the murder of Peter Balazs, which originally convinced the Hungarian government to initially seek his extradition in the late forties. Rather than regarding Zentai as a frail pensioner, he should be considered as a person who at the time of his physical prime devoted all his strength and energy to the persecution of innocent Jews.”

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Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today praised the rejection by the European Commission of a call by the foreign ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic to introduce a “double-genocide law” which would make the denial of Communist crimes a criminal offense.
In a statement issued today by its Israel Director, Holocaust historian Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center welcomed the decision as an important milestone in the critical struggle against attempts by post-Communist countries to rewrite the history of World War II and the Holocaust.

According to Zuroff:
“Today’s decision marks the first concrete step taken by the European Union to oppose the ongoing recent campaign by the post-Communist countries of Eastern Europe which seeks to promote the canards that the crimes of Communism are equivalent to those of the Nazis, and that the Soviet Union is equally responsible with Nazi Germany for the atrocities of World War II and the Holocaust. Rewriting the history of that tragic period in this manner, which also seeks to minimize the important role played by East Eastern local Nazi collaborators in the Holocaust, will not honor the memory of the victims of Communism, but will only shame those supporting this misguided initiative.”

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Budapest-The Simon Wiesenthal Center welcomed today’s decision by the District Court of Pest [Budapest] to reject a libel suit launched by convicted but unpunished Hungarian Nazi war criminal Dr. Sandor Kepiro against its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel Director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, in the wake of Kepiro’s failure to appear at a hearing scheduled for this morning. In a statement issued today by Zuroff, the Center expressed its satisfaction that this “diversionary tactic” by Kepiro and his legal team had been disposed of, but emphasized that the key issue-Kepiro’s role in helping to organize and carry the mass murder of at least 1,250 innocent residents of the Serbian city of Novi Sad on January 23, 1942-still remained to be dealt with.

According to Zuroff:
“While I am naturally relieved that this legal harassment by Kepiro has been rejected by the court, the real issue of Kepiro’s guilt has still not been addressed properly by the Hungarian prosecutors who have been investigating his case for over three and a half years. Given the fact that Kepiro was convicted by a Hungarian court in 1944 in relation to the massacre in Novi Sad and the extremely strong evidence available regarding his role in the arrests and roundups of numerous residents of the city who were murdered by the Hungarian forces on January 23, 1942, Kepiro should have been brought to justice long ago. In view of the fact that Kepiro was already 92 years old when I initially submitted the information regarding his residence in Budapest to the prosecutors on August 1, 2006, it is particularly unfortunate that his case was not expedited by the Hungarian authorities. We therefore urge the prosecutors in Budapest to do everything possible to finally bring this Holocaust perpetrator to justice.”

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Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center announced today that it would continue its efforts to press for the extradition to Hungary of Charles Zentai for his role in the November 8, 1944 murder of 18 year old Peter Balazs, a young Jew whom he is accused of murdering, after catching him without the yellow star on a Budapest streetcar.

In a statement issued here today by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, in the wake of today’s proceeding in Perth in which the same judge who accepted Zentai’s appeal against his extradition ordered the government to pay his court costs, the Center indicated that it was determined to continue its efforts to bring the accused to justice.

According to Zuroff:
“The Center will do its utmost to help achieve justice in this case. I am in contact with Hungarian Justice Minister Tibor Navracsics, who was indicated that there is no statute of limitations on such crimes and that the request for Zentai’s extradition remains in force. During my visit next week to Budapest, I will continue to pursue this matter with the relevant local officials in order to facilitate justice. The Balazs family, Hungarian society, and all persons of morality and conscience deserve no less.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

Jerusalem- A defamation suit launched last year by Hungarian Nazi collaborator Dr. Sandor Kepiro against the Simon Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi-hunter, Israel Director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the person who discovered and exposed the former gendarmerie officer, who played an important role in the January 23, 1942 mass murder of at least some 1,250 civilians in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, will open tomorrow, Friday, October 8, at the Budapest district court. Zuroff discovered Kepiro living in the Hungarian capital after almost half a century in exile in Argentina and has spearheaded the efforts to hold him accountable for his role in helping to organize a massacre of Jewish, Serb and Roma residents of the city of Novi Sad in January 1942. All the officers implicated in the massacre were put on trial in Budapest in late 1943 and convicted in early 1944, but following the Nazi invasion of Hungary, their sentences were cancelled and they were given promotions and returned to active service, without any of them being punished.

In February 2007, the Hungarian prosecution initiated an investigation of Kepiro's role in the Novi Sad massacre, based on documentation submitted by Zuroff, but no decision has been made yet on whether he will be put on trial.According to Zuroff, the failure to date of the Hungarian judicial authorities to punish Kepiro for his role in the heinous crimes committed by the Hungarian forces in Novi Sad should be the main issue and not the truthful allegations levelled by the Wiesenthal Center against Kepiro. "Nothing could be more absurd than my being in the docket in Budapest, while a notorious Hungarian Nazi collaborator remains a free man in the Hungarian capital."

Dr. Zuroff can be reached for comment at: 972-50-712-4156.

Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today strongly criticized a decision by a judge in Perth, Australia to reject a request submitted by the Hungarian government in 2005 for the extradition of Charles (Karoly) Zentai in connection with his role in the murder of Peter Balazs, an 18 year-old Jewish boy whom he caught in Budapest without the yellow star required by the local fascist authorities. In a statement issued by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center emphasized the insufferable delays of the legal process in the wake of bogus technical challenges mounted by Zentai’s lawyers and noted that the failure to extradite Zentai means that Australia is the only major Western democracy, to which at least hundreds of Nazi war criminals emigrated after World War II, which has failed to take successful legal action against a single one of them.

According to Zuroff:
“Today is a very sad day for Australia, Australian justice, and especially for the Balazs family and for people seeking justice for the victims of the Holocaust. If anything, the Zentai case shows a lack of understanding by the Australian judicial system of the urgency and importance of bringing suspected Holocaust criminals to justice. Contrary to today’s decision, Zentai’s age is totally irrelevant (no country in the world limits prosecution based solely on age) and the notion that he would be treated harshly in Hungary, a member in good standing of the European Union and NATO is ludicrous. We urge the Hungarian and Australian authorities to take all possible measures to overturn today’s unfortunate decision.”

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Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today expressed guarded optimism that justice will finally be achieved in the case of indicted Hungarian Nazi war criminal Karoly (Charles) Zentai, who was put in prison this afternoon in Perth, Australia pending his extradition to Hungary to face charges. In a statement issued today in Jerusalem by its chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center noted that it had already submitted the incriminating evidence against Zentai to the Hungarian and Australian authorities in 2004, after he was discovered in the framework of its “Operation: Last Chance” project.

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IIn response to today's decision by a Perth, Australia court to reject an appeal by suspected Hungarian Nazi war criminal Charles Zentai against his extradition to Hungary to stand trial for the murder of 18 year old Jewish boy Peter Balasz in Budapest on November 8, 1944, the Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff issued the following statement:

" I obviously am pleased that his appeal was rejected but Zentai still has the possibility of appealing to the Supreme Court which might again delay the process for who knows how long, which is exactly what his family wants, since their goal is to prevent a trial at all costs.

"I am hopeful that these technical delays, which have absolutely nothing to do with the serious accusations against Zentai, will come to an end as quickly as possible and that justice can finally be achieved at long last.
That is the minimum that the Balasz family deserve and that should be a primary consideration for the Australian authorities.

"In this case and others like it, it is important to keep in mind that the suspect may be elderly now, but when he was in the prime of his life, he is accused of devoting his strength and energies to the commission of a most heinous crime."

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Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center welcomes today’s decision by Justice John Gilmour to reject yet another appeal by accused Holocaust perpetrator Charles Zentai against his extradition to Hungary to stand trial for the murder of 18 year Jewish teenager Peter Balazs. In a statement issued today in Jerusalem by its chief Nazi hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center called upon the Australian judicial authorities to help achieve justice by putting an end to the repeated technical appeals launched by Zentai which are purely a diversionary tactic to prevent his trial in Hungary.

According to Zuroff:

“Seven months ago, Perth Magistrate Barbara Lane described Zentai’s claim that the murder of Balazs was not a war crime when it was committed as “misconceived and quite misleading.” Justice Gilmour today affirmed that decision and ruled as well that the charge against Zentai is a war crime. It is high time that he be tried in a court of law so that justice can finally be achieved. The memory of Peter Balazs and the incredible pain of his family deserve no less.”

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Novi Sad, Serbia-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today called upon the Hungarian authorities to prosecute Dr. Sandor Kepiro, one of the Hungarian officers who organized the mass murder of hundreds of Jews, Serbs, and Gypsies in the Serbian city of Novi Sad (then under Hungarian occupation) on January 23, 1942. Kepiro, who escaped after World War II to Argentina, was discovered living in Budapest by the Wiesenthal Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff in the summer of 2006.

In an impassioned speech at the annual memorial for the victims, Zuroff called upon the Hungarians to bring Kepiro to justice while it is still possible.

In his words:
“If there is anything that we must remember and internalize, it is that the crimes of the Nazis and their collaborators were carried out by human beings, who must bear full responsibility for their crimes… This is a sad truth that many governments would prefer to forget or ignore, because the practical implication of this basic fact is that a serious effort be made to bring the killers to justice. How else is it possible that Dr. Sandor Kepiro, one of the Hungarian officers who organized the Razzia, who was responsible for the roundups in the area of the streets Cara Dušana, Nikola Tesla, Futoška, and Jevrejski streets is still living in Budapest unprosecuted and unpunished… So let the demand for justice be issued from this place, not only in the name of the victims but by, and on behalf of, the living, and for future generations.

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO HOLD THE KILLERS ACCOUNTABLE.
BRING KEPIRO TO JUSTICE NOW WHILE IT IS STILL POSSIBLE!!!”

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Mayor Pavlićić, members the city council, H.E. Ambassador of Israel Artur Kol, His Grace Bishop Irinej, Chief Rabbi Yitshak Asiel, President of the Jewish community Dr. Ana Frankel, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great privilege to accept the honorary citizenship of Novi Sad, a city with a long history of over 300 years, a city of great political and cultural influence which became known as “Srpska Atina” (The Athens of Serbia), a city which before the Holocaust had a flourishing Jewish community and continues to be the home of Serbia’s second-largest Jewish community. more...

Novi Sad/Jerusalem/Los Angeles- The Simon Wiesenthal Center has announced that its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director, Dr. Efraim Zuroff, was today awarded the honorary citizenship of Novi Sad, Serbia by Mayor Igor Pavlićić in a ceremony held tonight at the local City Hall. In his remarks, Mayor Pavlićić noted Zuroff's tireless efforts to bring Nazi war criminals to justice all over the world and in particular, his role in exposing former Hungarian gendarmerie officer Dr. Sandor Kepiro, who participated in organizing the large-scale massacre of Jews, Serbs, and Gypsies in Novi Sad on January 23, 1942.

The leadership of the Wiesenthal Center welcomed the honor bestowed upon Zuroff and noted its particular significance these days, when the memory of the Holocaust and the victims of Nazism has been under such heavy attack by those seeking to besmirch the State of Israel.

According to Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper:
" By honoring Dr. Zuroff, the city of Novi Sad also honors the late Simon Wiesenthal for his relentless pursuit of justice, as well as the memory of all victims of Nazism whose martyrdom is today so readily and cynically abused by the enemies of the Jewish state."

Attached please find the text of Dr. Zuroff's remarks at the ceremony. Dr. Zuroff is the eleventh person to receive honorary citizenship of Novi Sad. Among the others are Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, inventor Nikola Tesla, composer Mikis Theodarakis and tennis star Monika Seles.

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Belgrade – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today warmly welcomed the decision, announced here today at a press conference convened by Serbian Justice Minister Snežana Malovic and chief war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukčevic with the participation of the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff to seek the extradition of three Nazi war criminals, two of whom were discovered and exposed in the framework of the Center’s “Operation: Last Chance” project. The criminals in question are former Hungarian gendarmerie officer Dr. Sandor Kepiro, currently residing in Budapest Hungary; former Ustasha police chief of Požega, Croatia Milivoj Ašner, currently residing in Klagenfurt, Austria and former Belgrade Security Police operative Peter Egner, currently residing in Seattle, Washington, USA. The first two were found and exposed by the Wiesenthal Center.

In his remarks at the press conference, Dr. Zuroff stressed the practical and symbolic significance of the decision and praised the new Serbian government for undertaking this step which had hereto merely been discussed by its predecessors.

According to Zuroff:
“In today’s circumstances, in which the most difficult part of bringing Nazi war criminals to justice is often the lack of political will of governments to take the necessary action, Serbia’s decision to seek the extradition of Kepiro, Ašner and Egner sends a powerful message that the passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the murderers and that it is still possible to bring the perpetrators of the Holocaust to the bar of justice. We hope that these requests will be issued as quickly as possible to maximize their impact.”

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Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center welcomed the decision by an Australian court in Perth to allow the extradition to Hungary of Hungarian officer Charles Zentai who is wanted for murder committed in Budapest during the Holocaust. In a statement issued by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, who exposed Zentai in the framework of “Operation: Last Chance”, the Center expressed deep satisfaction that justice might finally be achieved.

According to Zuroff:

“Today’s decision brings us a giant step forward toward achieving historic justice. Our thoughts are with the family of Peter Balazs whom Zentai is alleged to have murdered in Budapest in November 1944. And it is only thanks to Peter’s father Dezso and his brother Adam, who collected the evidence of Zentai’s role in Peter’s murder, that the Wiesenthal Center was able more than three years ago to track down the person responsible for the crime. We urge the Australian authorities to expedite the case and complete the extradition process as quickly as possible so that justice can finally be achieved.”

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Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center expressed deep satisfaction in the wake of the rejection today by the Australian Supreme Court of a legal challenge mounted by suspected Hungarian Nazi war criminal Charles Zentai to prevent his extradition to stand trial in Budapest for his crimes during World War II. (Zentai, together with a suspect wanted for fraud in Ireland, had claimed that the courts in Perth did not have the jurisdiction to rule in his extradition case, a technical argument which hereto had delayed his extradition to Hungary for more than two years.)

In a statement issued today by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center called upon the Australian authorities to expedite the extradition process to help ensure that justice is achieved, and warned that Zentai’s supporters would make every effort to present him as unable to stand trial even if this was not necessarily the case.

According to Zuroff:
“In these circumstances, it is important to remember that the passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the perpetrators and that suspected killers should not be ignored simply because they have hereto eluded justice. The families of the victims are the ones who deserve our sympathy, not those who committed murder, and in this regard it is illuminating that it was Adam Balasz, the brother of Zentai’s alleged victim, Peter Balasz, who submitted the evidence to the Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem shortly after “Operation:Last Chance” was launched in Hungary, with a request that we try to track down and bring his brother’s murderer to justice.”

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Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today harshly criticized the decision of an Australian court to postpone for at least six months a decision which had hereto prevented the extradition from Australia to Hungary of Charles Zentai, a Nazi collaborator accused of murdering a Jewish teenager in Budapest during the Holocaust. In a statement issued today in Jerusalem, the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff expressed his deep frustration and exasperation with the Australian courts which have allowed a purely technical legal issue, in no way connected to the facts of the case, to prevent the extradition to stand trial of an accused Holocaust murderer.

According to Zuroff:

“By failing to resolve the technical challenge mounted by Zentai’s lawyers and postponing the decision by half a year, the Australian courts have significantly increased the likelihood of an accused Nazi murderer escaping trial and punishment. It is as if the court is entirely oblivious to the responsibility it should feel to Zentai’s victim, Peter Balazs and his family, who for decades sought to bring his killer to justice, and instead of expediting the extradition process have allowed its manipulation to help Zentai avoid his day in court.”

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Jerusalem - The Simon Wiesenthal Center today released the full text of its sixth Annual Status Report on the Worldwide Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals, which covers the period from April 1, 2006 until March 31, 2007 and awarded grades ranging from A (highest) to F to evaluate the efforts and results achieved by more than three dozen countries which were either the site of Nazi crimes or admitted Holocaust perpetrators after World War II. more...

Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center has urged the Australian judicial authorities to expedite the extradition appeal process in the case of accused Holocaust perpetrator Charles Zentai, in the wake of today’s decision by a court in Perth to resume his case only on August 7, “lest the lengthy and numerous delays granted the accused ultimately facilitate his eluding justice.”

In a statement issued here today by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center noted that Zentai had already succeeded in postponing his appeal against the Hungarian request for his extradition to stand trial for murder in Budapest for more than two years, and that every delay only brought him closer to escaping prosecution.

According to Zuroff:

“The fact that Zentai has been able to delay his appeal for such a long time is an absolute travesty of justice. If Peter Balasz whom Zentai is accused of murdering on November 8, 1944 had been the beneficiary of similar delays, he would have survived the Holocaust [since Budapest was liberated from the Nazis in mid-February 1945], but that is a luxury that Zentai and his accomplices never afforded him. To date, the Australian justice system has proven to be overly kind to an individual whose alleged crimes clearly do not qualify him for any such consideration.”

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Budapest – The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, today urged Hungarian leaders to make certain that local Nazi war criminals exposed by the Center’s “Operation: Last Chance” project would be brought to justice as quickly as possible.

Zuroff issued this call at the main Holocaust memorial in the Hungarian capital, where he appeared as a featured speaker alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Ference Gyurscany, Parliament Speaker Katalin Szili, Chief Rabbi Kardos and others, which was attended by thousands in the square beside the Dohany Street synagogue under the sponsorship of the Hungarian association of the “March of the Living.”

The criminals in question are gendarmerie officer Dr. Sandor Kepiro who is currently under investigation for his role in the mass murders carried out in Novi Sad in January 1942 and Karoly (Charles) Zentai wanted for murder in Budapest in 1944 and currently appealing his extradition to Hungary from Australia. Both were discovered in the framework of “Operation: Last Chance” and are on the Center’s April 2007 “Most Wanted List.”

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Budapest- The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, met here today with Prosecutor Zjolt Falvai, who is in charge of the new criminal investigation against convicted Hungarian war criminal Dr. Sandor Kepiro, who was discovered and exposed by Zuroff in the framework of the Center’s “Operation:Last Chance” project. Zuroff submitted new evidence regarding the crimes committed by Kepiro in the January 23, 1942 mass murder of 1,246 civilians in the Serbian city of Novi Sad (then under Hungarian occupation), as well as information concerning Kepiro’s likely involvement in the deportation of Jews to Auschwitz in the spring and summer of 1944. He also discussed further cooperation between the Center and the Hungarian judicial authorities in the investigation of this case.

In an additional development of significance in the case, Zuroff revealed that the Center had obtained proof that Kepiro had been convicted a second time in absentia in Hungary in 1946. (His initial conviction was in January 1944, but it was annulled following the Nazi occupation of Hungary and he was never punished for his crimes in Novi Sad.)

According to Zuroff:
“The confirmation that Kepiro was convicted a second time in Hungary reinforces the necessity of punishing him for his responsibility for crimes committed during the Holocaust. We have offered our fullest cooperation to the Hungarian authorities in this case and urged them to expedite their efforts to bring this arrogant war criminal to justice at long last.”

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Belgrade- The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, met here today with Serbian leaders to enlist their support in the ongoing efforts to facilitate the prosecution of three war criminals who committed crimes against Jews, Serbs, and Gypsies on the territory of former Yugoslavia during World War II. The cases in question are those of: former Hungarian gendarmerie officer Dr. Sandor Kepiro, who participated in the mass murder of civilians in Novi Sad in January 1942 and is currently living in Budapest; former Croatian police chief of the city of Slavonska Požega Milivoj Ašner, who orchestrated the persecution and murder of hundreds of civilians under his control and is currently residing in Klagenfurt, Austria; and the former Croatian governor of Dubrovnik, who carried out a policy of persecution and repression against Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies and presently lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In separate meetings with Prime Minister Koštunica (together with Justice Minister Stojković and President Tadić, Zuroff stressed the need for Serbia to adopt a proactive stance on these cases and urged the Serbs to seek the extradition of all three criminals. Both Koštunica and Tadić expressed unqualified support for the Center’s attempts to facilitate the prosecution of Holocaust perpetrators and promised that the Serbian authorities would make every effort to provide evidence and political support for this effort.

According to Zuroff:
“I am encouraged by my meetings with both the Prime Minister and the President, whose support for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals was unequivocal, and hope that it will be translated into practical political and judicial action by the pertinent Serbian authorities as quickly as possible.”

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Jerusalem- The Simon Wiesenthal Center today blasted the February 19 decision, announced today, of the Budapest Municipal Court not to implement the 1944 jail sentence meted out to Hungarian gendarmerie officer Dr. Sandor Kepiro for his participation in the mass murder of over 1,200 civilians (mostly Jews, the others primarily Serbs and Gypsies) on January 23, 1942 in the Serbian city of Novi Sad [in Hungarian-Ujvidek], then under Hungarian occupation.

In a statement issued in Jerusalem by its chief Nazi-hunte,r Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, who exposed Kepiro’s current whereabouts in Budapest several months ago, the Center expressed its outrage over the mistaken and misguided verdict, which according to Zuroff “grant a totally-undeserved prize to a unrepentant and cynical war criminal who has never been punished for his heinous crimes which have been fully verified by a Hungarian court of law.”

According to Zuroff:
“We firmly believe that this decision is morally unjust and legally flawed since it is based on Kepiro’s return to active service in May 1944, which was not due to his innocence of the original charges on which he was convicted, but rather a decision made possible by the Nazi occupation of Hungary in March 1944. We therefore urge the prosecution to appeal and if unsuccessful, to immediately initiate a full investigation of Kepiro’s criminal activities in 1942 and 1944 in order that he finally be held accountable for his terrible crimes. In that respect, it is important to remember that there is no limitation on prosecution of war crimes and that the passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the perpetrators.”

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center today called upon the Hungarian Foreign Ministry to launch an official investigation into the role of Hungarian diplomats in protecting twice-convicted but hereto unpunished Nazi war criminal Dr. Sandor Képiró.

In a letter sent to Hungarian Foreign Minister Kinga Göncz, who is currently visiting Israel, the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff pointed to statements by Képiró indicating that officials of the Hungarian Embassy in Buenos Aires knew of his presence in Argentina and had told him in 1996 that he could return to Hungary without fear of prosecution. At that point, Képiró had been living in Argentina for close to 50 years having escaped from Europe following his convictions in 1944 and 1946 for his role in the mass murder of 1,246 civilians in the city of Novi Sad on January 23, 1942.

Among the questions posed by Zuroff to the Foreign Minister are:

1. Was the Képiró’s residence in Buenos Aires known to Hungarian diplomatsIf so, from what date
2. Was this information ever sent to Budapest and if so, to whom
3. Did Hungarian diplomats indeed tell Képiró that he could return to Hungary without any fear of prosecution

According to Zuroff:

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Jerusalem – Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Drašković expressed his unqualified support for the recent initiative of the Simon Wiesenthal Center to encourage Serbia to seek the extradition of three Nazi war criminals, in a meeting held last night in Jerusalem with the Center's chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff.

The criminals under discussion are:

Zuroff welcomed the support of Foreign Minister Drašković and said that a proactive stance by the Serbian government might ultimately make the difference whether or not these Nazi criminals would finally be brought to justice.

All three cases have been the focus of intensive recent efforts by the Wiesenthal Center, with the latter two having been discovered by the Center in the framework of its “Operation: Last Chance” project which offers financial rewards for information which facilitates the prosecution and punishment of Holocaust perpetrators.

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Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff urged the Serbian government to rapidly expedite the extradition to Belgrade for trial of three Holocaust war criminals in a meeting this evening in Jerusalem with visiting Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Drašković.

The criminals under discussion are:

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Budapest - The Simon Wiesenthal Center today publicly urged the Hungarian government to immediately arrest Dr. Sandor Képiró, who has already been twice convicted in Hungarian courts for crimes committed during World War II but was never punished for his crimes. He was recently discovered living in Budapest in the framework of the Center’s “Operation: Last Chance” project.

בודפשט – מרכז שמעון ויזנטל קרא היום לממשלת הונגריה לאסור מיד את דר' סאנדור קפירו, שהורשע כבר פעמיים על ידי בתי משפט בהונגריה בשל פשעים שביצע במלחמת העולם השנייה, אך לא ריצה את עונשו מעולם. קפירו, שחי בבודפשט, נחשף לאחרונה במסגרת "מבצע: הזדמנות אחרונה" של מרכז ויזנטל

במסיבת עיתונאים שהתקיימה היום בבודפשט, חשף דר' אפרים זורוף, צייד הנאצים הראשי של המרכז, שקפירו, אשר הורשע (בנוכחותו) בשנת 1944 ושוב (בהיעדרו) בשנת 1946 בגין חלקו ברצח כ 1,000 אזרחים בנובי סאד (אויוידק – בהונגרית) ב 21-23 בינואר 1942, חי ללא חשש בבירת הונגריה בעשור האחרון, לאחר שהתחבא בארגנטינה כמעט מחצית המאה.

:לדברי זורוף

"דר' סאנדור קפירו הוא פושע המלחמה ההונגרי החי הידוע ביותר, שטרם ריצה את עונשו. בהתחשב בכך שהוא הורשע כבר פעמיים, ובתפקידו הניכר בביצוע הרצח ההמוני בנובי סאד בשנת 1942, אנו קוראים לאסור אותו מיידית.
לפי גזר דינו מ-1944, כשקיבל קפירו הוראה לרכז יהודים, סרבים וצוענים בנובי סאד כדי לרצוח אותם הוא דרש "פקודות בכתב" , אך כשנאמר לו שפקודות כאלה ניתנות רק בעל פה, ביצע אותן בכל זאת. אנשים כקפירו הם בעלי מוסר מפלצתי משום שהיו מודעים היטב לפקודות הלא חוקיות ולא מוסריות שקיבלו אך בחרו לבצען בכל זאת."

למידע נוסף נא להתקשר לטל. 7214156-0506

The Simon Wiesenthal Center today welcomed the rejection by the Federal Court of Australia of a legal challenge mounted by “Operation: Last Chance” suspect Charles Zentai to the authority of magistrates in Western Australia to hear his appeal against his pending extradition to Hungary to stand trial for crimes he committed during the Holocaust.

In a statement issued in Jerusalem, the Center’s chief Nazi–hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, said that the decision of the Federal Court was correct and prevented the abuse of the Australian legal system by a lawyer intent on preventing the just prosecution of his client at any cost.

According to Zuroff:

“The legal challenge mounted on Zentai’s behalf was purely technical and had no connection to the heinous crimes he is accused of committing. We no doubt will soon see additional irrelevant attempts by the defendant to convince the authorities not to send him back to the scene of his crimes, but in this regard it is extremely important to remember two principles:

1. The passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the perpetrator.
2. The fact that a person escaped justice for decades does not turn a murderer into an innocent person.

“We urge the Australian authorities to do whatever possible to expedite the Zentai case and thereby help facilitate the achievement of justice while it still can be obtained.”

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Miskolc- The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, met here today with Holocaust survivors to attempt to advance an investigation currently underway against a suspect discovered in the framework of its “Operation: Last Chance” project who is alleged to have participated in the deportation of approximately 14,000 Jews from Miskolc to Auschwitz in June 1944.

The Center urges all survivors of Miskolc who were in the city during the mass deportations of Jews to Auschwitz to contact its Jerusalem office or (in Hungary) to call (06) 557-3981 for additional information.

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Budapest- The Simon Wiesenthal Center announced that its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, has today submitted the names of two Hungarians suspected of Nazi war crimes to prosecutors in Budapest. In a statement issued in Jerusalem, the Center noted that the suspects in question, whose names and current whereabouts were not publically released for security reasons, were suspected of active participation in war crimes and crimes against humanity. Both were discovered in the framework of the Center’s “Operation: Last Chance” project (run in conjunction with the Targum Shlishi Foundation of Miami, Florida) which offers financial rewards for information which facilitates the prosecution and punishment of Holocaust perpetrators.

To date, the Center had received the names of 14 Hungarian suspects, four of which (including the two submitted yesterday) have been submitted to Hungarian prosecutors, since the project was launched in Budapest on July 13, 2004. The initial two names submitted have yielded an extradition request for former Hungarian army officer Charles Zentai from Australia and the opening of an official investigation for genocide (against former Arrow Cross youth leader Lajos Polgar).

In that respect, the Center wants to note the excellent cooperation received hereto from the Hungarian judicial authorities. “We hope and expect that the good cooperation forged between the Center and the Hungarian prosecutors in the case of Zentai and Polgar will continue in the new cases submitted today,” said Zuroff after this meeting at the office of the Prosecutor-General.

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Melbourne – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today presented new evidence regarding the persecution, torture, and murder of Jews carried out at Arrow Cross headquarters in Budapest during the winter of 1944/1945 as part of its efforts to bring wartime fascist leader, and current Melbourne resident, Lajos Polgar to justice. At a press conference held at the Melbourne Holocaust Center , the Center's chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff presented Holocaust survivor Suzanne Nozick who, together with her mother, was tortured and raped at Arrow Cross headquarters, which were under the authority of Polgar who was a youth leader of the Hungarian fascist movement. After being tortured for several days, Mrs. Nozick and her mother were marched, along with other Jews who had been held at Arrow Cross headquarters, to the banks of the Danube River , where they were shot. Mrs. Nozick's mother was murdered, as were the others, while she miraculously survived.

Dr. Zuroff announced that he had already discussed the new evidence in the Polgar case with an official of the Australian Federal Police, and would be submitting the testimony as well as additional trial records to the Australian authorities within the coming two weeks.

According to Zuroff: “The irony of the case is that despite the mighty efforts of Polgar and his fellow Arrow Cross members to annihilate Hungarian Jewry, at least one of their intended victims has survived to tell the tale and found refuge in the same city as the person in charge of the site of her torture. We urge both the Hungarian and Australian authorities to make every effort to ensure that Lajos Polgar will be held accountable for these crimes.”

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Canberra – The Simon Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff met here today with Australian Justice Minister Chris Ellison and Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock in order to discuss the latest developments in the pending extradition of “Operation: Last Chance” suspect Charles Zentai to Hungary to stand trial for his World War II crimes, which was recently postponed for approximately five weeks on the legal technicality of dubious validity. In the meetings, Zuroff raised his concern that Zentai's lawyers would seek any means available to prevent his extradition and effectively “abuse the legal system” to help him avoid being put on trial

Both Justice Minister Ellison and Attorney-General Ruddock clearly indicated that they would not allow the extradition to be prevented by unworthy delaying tactics. They assured Zuroff and Australia-Israel Jewish Affairs Committee director Dr. Colin Rubenstein, who accompanied him to the meetings, that the government viewed the prosecution or extradition of war criminals as an important objective and would take whatever steps were necessary to see to it that justice was achieved within the framework of Australian law.

After the meetings, Zuroff expressed cautious optimism that Zentai would indeed be extradited, noting that such a trial would not only be the first successful legal action taken by Australia against a Nazi war criminal resident in the country, but would also be the first trial of a Hungarian Nazi war criminal in Hungary since that country became a democracy.

Wiesenthal Center Welcomes Arrest in Perth of “Operation:Last Chance” Suspect Zentai Following Approval by Australian Justice Minister Ellison of Hungarian Extradition Request; Urges Prompt Completion of Process so that Justice Can Be Achieved

In a statement issued by Zuroff today in Jerusalem , the Center expressed its deep satisfaction with the decision of Justice Minister Ellison and urged the Australian authorities to expedite the extradition process so that justice in the Zentai case could finally be achieved. Zuroff also cautioned that Zentai might attempt to prevent his extradition by exaggerating existent health issues and/or creating imaginary ailments, as have other suspected Nazi war criminals facing extradition and prosecution for their crimes.

According to Zuroff: “Today's decision moves us another step closer to achieving justice and is a powerful reminder that Nazi war criminals can still be held accountable for their crimes. His extradition to stand trial in Budapest will constitute the first successful legal action taken in Australia against a Holocaust perpetrator and we look forward to that taking place as quickly as possible.”

In a statement issued today in Jerusalem by the Center's chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff and Targum Shlishi's founder and director Aryeh Rubin, the two organizations called upon Australian Justice Minister Chris Ellison and the Australian judicial authorities to ensure that the extradition process would proceed as quickly as possible within the framework of the law and the existent extradition treaty between the two countries.

According to Zuroff and Rubin: ”The passage of time in no way diminishes the severity of the crimes committed during the Holocaust and the importance of holding the perpetrators of those crimes accountable. The extradition request submitted by Hungary creates an excellent opportunity for Australia to take successful legal action for the first time against a Nazi war criminal who, based on false or incomplete information, was able to illegally gain entry to Australia . Hungary has hereto taken all the necessary steps to achieve justice in this case, and now it is Australia 's obligation to do its share to help complete the process.”

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.

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center today welcomed the request for an arrest warrant against “Operation: Last Chance” suspect Charles (Karoly) Zentai submitted this week by the Hungarian military prosecutor to a judge in Budapest . This is the requisite first step which must be taken before Hungary can issue an official request for the extradition of Zentai who currently resides in Perth , Australia . The judge has 15 days to rule on the request.

“We welcome this step by the Hungarian military prosecutor,” said the Center's chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff who met earlier this month in Budapest with military prosecutor Ference Nemesz and other Hungarian Justice Ministry officials to submit a list of potential witnesses in the Zentai case and offer the Center's assistance in the investigation.

Zuroff expressed cautious optimism that Zentai would finally be held accountable for his crimes and noted that the Center preferred that he be tried in Budapest , the site of his crimes, rather than in Australia . “A trial in Hungary , where the alleged crimes were committed by Zentai, who served at that time in the Hungarian Army, would have far greater significance in public terms than if he were tried in Australia . In this regard, the educational and social dimensions of such a legal process should not be underestimated,” said Zuroff.

In a press conference held here today, the Center’ chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff revealed the new number (06) 205-500-142 and issued a call to the Hungarian public to submit all pertinent information and especially details regarding its number one Hungarian suspect Karoly (Charles) Zentai, a Hungarian army officer who is accused of the murder of at least one Jewish teenager in Budapest in November 1944 and of the persecution and torture of numerous additional Jews kidnapped by Zentai and two fellow army officers who were tried for their crimes after World War II. Zentai escaped from Hungary and was tracked down by the Center in Perth Australia, where he has been living since 1950.

Zuroff, who met with officials of the Hungarian Justice Ministry yesterday regarding the case, expressed his hope that Zentai would be tried in Hungary as quickly as possible, in accordance with the Wiesenthal Center’s preference that Nazi war criminals be brought to justice in the country in which they committed their crimes or in their country of origin.

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Zuroff met with Dr. Laszlo Lang, director of the Department for the Supervision of Investigations; Military Prosecutor Ferenc Nemesz; Dr.Eva Kis; and Dr. Katalin Veres and urged them to expedite the investigation in order to ensure that justice will be achieved. He also offered the Center’s assistance in examining the case and submitted a list of eleven potential witnesses.

Zuroff also noted that it is already clear from the available documentation and witness testimony, that Zentai was involved in additional crimes against Jews in Budapest in 1944 besides the murder of Peter Balazs.

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center today totally rejected the charge by parliament ombudsman Attila Peterfalvi that “Operation: Last Chance” was engaged in illegal activity by examining information regarding crimes committed during the Holocaust in Hungary.