[JURIST] In 2005 sixteen Nazi war criminals were convicted for atrocities during World War II in Italy, Germany and Poland, a marked increase in convictions over the previous year, according to a new report issued by the Simon Wiesenthal Center [advocacy website]. The report praised countries that pursued the prosecutions but sharply criticized Austria for failing to bring similar charges. The Center has in the past called Austria a "paradise" for war criminals [JURIST report]. AFP has more.

The Center is a Jewish human rights organization named for famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, who died last year [JURIST report]. In 2002 it launched Operation: Last Chance [project website], a campaign to bring aging Nazi war criminals to trial before they die.