M42

Morotai Trial M42 was one of the Australian war crimes trials conducted on Morotai in February 1946. The case concerned the execution of Allied prisoner of war Schaefer at Tantui Prisoner of War Camp. Two members of the Japanese armed forces were tried for their involvement. Although convictions were recorded, the Judge Advocate General later advised that the findings and sentences should not be confirmed because the accused had acted under orders that they had no reason to believe were unlawful. Responsibility was considered to lie with the officer who issued the execution order.