This book documents the legal proceedings of the December 1949 Khabarovsk trial in which twelve members of the Japanese Army's covert biological warfare Unit 731 were prosecuted for their war crimes. The trial sought to hold key leaders in Japan's bio-weapons program accountable for atrocities after WWII.
The book includes materials detailing the charges brought against the defendants as well as records from the preliminary investigation used to build the case against them. Extensive court transcripts provide testimony from the accused, expert witnesses speaking to the medical evidence, and accounts from other involved parties. The key arguments made by both the prosecution and multiple defense lawyers are also presented.
In total, the book provides historical documentation of this pivotal trial seeking justice upon some of the major leaders and researchers responsible for Japan's biological warfare program during WWII which developed weapons and conducted human experimentation. The materials offer insight into how the Soviet Union pursued war crimes cases on this issue in the post-WWII period.