War crimes trials in the Dutch East Indies

War crimes trials in the Dutch East Indies were carried out by the Dutch colonial power in 1946–1949 against Japanese military personnel or their helpers for war crimes committed in the Pacific War.

organization

The Netherlands had been a member of the UNWCC and the Far Eastern Sub-Committee on War Crimes (FEAC, later FEC) in Chongqing since October 1943 . The FEC's categorization of Japanese war criminals was essentially followed . While normal criminal law was applied in the motherland for war crimes, a special legal basis was created for the Dutch East Indies (NI) by several decrees of the Governor General in 1946.

The definition of a war crime was narrowly drawn in the conventional sense, but not limited locally. Decree 44/1946 contains a list of 38 offenses to be recorded, furthermore the concept of conspiracy ("conspiracy") originating from the Anglo-Saxon legal system was adopted in an expanded form. The idea was taken over command responsibility of a commander ( command responsibility ) for the first time in the case against the generals Yamashita and Homma in Manila has been developed (October-December 1945). In addition to death and life imprisonment, temporary imprisonment from one day to 20 years was possible as a punishment . In principle, the defense was not recognized to have acted “on higher orders”, but impunity could be granted for acts that were committed under duress.

The military had jurisdiction . The military courts consisted of a chairman, who had to be a civilian and a trained lawyer, and two officers over 25 years of age. The court was not limited by any rules in its assessment of evidence. The judgments were to be given reasons. The courts met in various places in the archipelago. The prosecution could introduce further allegations into proceedings at any time.

The defendants were given the option to be represented by a lawyer of their choice; if necessary, a public defender was appointed. In contrast to defendants in the British tribunals or in the Yokohama war crimes trials , requests for bias could be made. In addition, the defendants had a "last word."

Revision

All judgments had to be confirmed by local military commanders. Death sentences were also presented to the governor general. Appeals for clemency were first examined by the Supreme Court and then also submitted to the Governor General.

Processes

In preparing the charges, the Dutch exchanged a lot with British agencies such as the War Crimes Section - SEAC or with their Australian colleagues working in New Guinea and Borneo. By the end of 1945 a list of over 200 suspects had been drawn up, mostly camp guards, of whom 43 were in custody.

The first trial in September 1946 resulted in a death sentence against a Japanese captain who had tortured prisoners. The brothel operator Washio Awochi was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for forced prostitution while running his house under the auspices of the Kempeitai .

A Japanese general who had already been sentenced to life in Guam was extradited to the Dutch for further trial.

A trial on Ambon raised legal issues. Motosuke Suske was charged with the execution of the Dutchman Barends without a fair trial. However, since Barends had voluntarily converted to the Japanese side, he had lost his Dutch nationality and was no longer covered by the FEC's definition of war crimes. Motosuke was still convicted of "inciting murder through abuse of authority". There were also convictions for the death of three Indonesians.

The Vice-Admiral Kamada Michiaki was in Pontianak ( Borneo sentenced) for the murder of 1,500 locals to death. For the 14 guards of a prison camp on Flores in which 2,000 inmates died, there were four death sentences and sentences of between three and 15 years. Colonel Nomura Akira confessed to stealing $ 30 million from the state treasury - unfortunately he forgot where the amount was hidden. He was convicted not only of war crimes but also of embezzlement.

16 members of the Tokkeikai Marine Police who carried out mass arrests and torture in Macassar were also held responsible . They were not charged with individual acts, but were convicted because they belonged to a criminal organization .

In 1947 there was a trial against Japanese soldiers who had fought on the side of the Indonesian freedom fighters after the armistice . They were accused of breaking the armistice.

A total of 1,038 people were charged in 448 proceedings. Of the 969 people convicted (93.4%), 236 (24.4%) were sentenced to death. The death penalty was also carried out in 226 cases. There were also 28 life sentences. The courts in NI judged much more strictly than elsewhere.

The trials came to an end in March 1949, and death sentences were carried out until the end of the year. Convicted Japanese were transferred to Sugamo Prison in Tokyo to serve their sentences in early 1950 .

literature

Philip R. Piccigallo: The Japanese on Trial. Allied was crimes operations in the East. 1945–1951 . University of Texas Press, Austin TX et al. a. 1979, ISBN 0-292-78033-8 , (chapter "The Netherlands").
United Nations War Crimes Commission : Law reports 13: Ulrich Greiffelt, Artur Greiser, Albert Wagner, Washio Awochi, Susuki Motosuke, ao London 1949.