M20

Morotai Trial M20 was an Australian war crimes trial conducted on Morotai between 11 and 12 January 1946. The case concerned the murder of Royal Australian Air Force airman McGuigan and Royal Australian Navy Sick Bay Attendant A. Hill, who were prisoners of war in Japanese custody during the Second World War. A Japanese naval commander and a rear admiral were charged in connection with the killings.

The court acquitted Commander Takasaki Masamitsu but found Rear Admiral Hamanaka Kyoho guilty. Although the court initially sentenced Hamanaka to death by shooting, it also recommended mercy. Following review by the Judge Advocate General, the recommendation was accepted and the death sentence was commuted to fifteen years' imprisonment on 27 February 1946. This page summarises the trial, the evidence, the verdicts, the revised sentence and the surviving archival records, including the Judge Advocate General's report.