Lawyers for former Hungarian soldier Charles Zentai said they will appeal the decision, handed down in Western Australia's Perth Magistrates Court. If it is upheld, Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus will make the final determination on whether Zentai should be extradited.

Zentai, an Australian citizen, is listed by the U.S.-based Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center among its 10 most wanted Nazis as having "participated in manhunts, persecution, and murder of Jews in Budapest in 1944."

Hungary accuses Zentai of torturing and killing 18-year-old Peter Balazs in a Budapest army barracks on Nov. 8, 1944, for failing to wear a star that would identify him as a Jew.

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