lucky wilbury
02-27-2004, 01:46 AM
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAW1V4W5RD.html
Mastermind of Deadly Tokyo Nerve Gas Attack Sentenced to Hang in Long-Awaited Verdict
By Mari Yamaguchi Associated Press Writer
Published: Feb 27, 2004
TOKYO (AP) - Former doomsday cult guru Shoko Asahara was convicted and sentenced to death Friday for masterminding the deadly 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway and a string of other crimes that killed 27 people.
Asahara, who founded and led the Aum Shinrikyo cult, also was charged with ordering his followers to produce and stockpile arsenals of conventional and chemical weapons.
Asahara - the 12th person sentenced to death for the subway attack that killed 12 people and sickened thousands - stood in silence as the verdict and sentence were read. It was not immediately clear if he would appeal.
The ruling was the climax of a nearly eight-year trial. His attorneys had argued that Asahara - whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto - had lost control over his flock by the time of the March 20, 1995, subway attack with sarin gas.
But former followers testified in court that Asahara planned and ordered the subway attack and other crimes.
Asahara also was accused of masterminding a sarin gas attack in June 1994 in the central Japan city of Matsumoto, the murder of anti-Aum lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family and the killings of wayward followers and people helping members leave the cult.
The verdict came after several hours of proceedings in which Judge Shoji Ogawa detailed the 13 counts against Asahara and dismissed the former guru's claims of innocence.
"The defendant plotted to spread sarin nerve gas across Tokyo, destroy the capital and build his own kingdom, and he ordered the construction of a sarin production plant," Ogawa said.
Japan does not have jury trials, and a four-judge panel led by Ogawa delivered the verdict and sentence.
The subway gassing was Aum's most horrific crime. Five cult members pierced bags of sarin - a nerve gas developed by the Nazis - on separate trains as they converged in central Tokyo's national government district as a pre-emptive strike against police planning raids on the cult.
The attack sent the country into a panic as sickened, bleeding passengers stumbled from subway stations around Tokyo.
Survivors still suffer from headaches, breathing troubles and dizziness. The cult was ordered in separate court proceedings to pay 3.8 billion yen, or $35 million, in damages to the victims.
Security was tight at Tokyo District Court to guard against disruptions by Asahara followers, and media reported that a decoy was used on the way to the court Friday morning to thwart any attempt to free the ex-guru. Some 4,600 people turned out for a shot at the 38 courtroom seats available to the public; spectators were chosen by lottery.
"I can't think of any other sentence but death for Asahara," said Yasutomo Kusakai, a 22-year-old college student who tried unsuccessfully to get a courtroom seat. "Many people were killed, and he's supposed to be the mastermind of the crimes that affected the society in a big way."
Asahara did not speak during the session, though he grinned as he was brought into the courtroom and made bizarre, comic faces during the proceedings.
Families of victims have spent years waiting for justice, though they say the trial's outcome will provide only limited solace. Shizue Takahashi, the widow of a subway worker who died in the attack, has faulted the police for failing to crack down on the cult before the gassing, despite clear evidence that the group was a threat.
On Friday, however, she said she looked forward to a guilty verdict.
"I'm glad that they've established his guilt in the other incidents covered this morning," she told reporters outside the court before the death sentence was announced.
Aum's weapons program was carried out by a coterie of highly educated scientists from Japan's best schools. Asahara's flock was bewitched by a mix of Hinduism, Buddhism and yoga that predicted an Armageddon that only cult members would survive.
The trial was lengthened by Japan's chronic shortage of lawyers and judges, the complexity of the case and a six-month delay caused by Asahara's firing of his first attorney. Friday's session was the 257th of the trial.
Police say the cult's remnants are showing signs of greater allegiance to Asahara. Agents this month raided the offices of the group, which still claims 1,650 members in Japan and 300 in Russia.
Mastermind of Deadly Tokyo Nerve Gas Attack Sentenced to Hang in Long-Awaited Verdict
By Mari Yamaguchi Associated Press Writer
Published: Feb 27, 2004
TOKYO (AP) - Former doomsday cult guru Shoko Asahara was convicted and sentenced to death Friday for masterminding the deadly 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway and a string of other crimes that killed 27 people.
Asahara, who founded and led the Aum Shinrikyo cult, also was charged with ordering his followers to produce and stockpile arsenals of conventional and chemical weapons.
Asahara - the 12th person sentenced to death for the subway attack that killed 12 people and sickened thousands - stood in silence as the verdict and sentence were read. It was not immediately clear if he would appeal.
The ruling was the climax of a nearly eight-year trial. His attorneys had argued that Asahara - whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto - had lost control over his flock by the time of the March 20, 1995, subway attack with sarin gas.
But former followers testified in court that Asahara planned and ordered the subway attack and other crimes.
Asahara also was accused of masterminding a sarin gas attack in June 1994 in the central Japan city of Matsumoto, the murder of anti-Aum lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family and the killings of wayward followers and people helping members leave the cult.
The verdict came after several hours of proceedings in which Judge Shoji Ogawa detailed the 13 counts against Asahara and dismissed the former guru's claims of innocence.
"The defendant plotted to spread sarin nerve gas across Tokyo, destroy the capital and build his own kingdom, and he ordered the construction of a sarin production plant," Ogawa said.
Japan does not have jury trials, and a four-judge panel led by Ogawa delivered the verdict and sentence.
The subway gassing was Aum's most horrific crime. Five cult members pierced bags of sarin - a nerve gas developed by the Nazis - on separate trains as they converged in central Tokyo's national government district as a pre-emptive strike against police planning raids on the cult.
The attack sent the country into a panic as sickened, bleeding passengers stumbled from subway stations around Tokyo.
Survivors still suffer from headaches, breathing troubles and dizziness. The cult was ordered in separate court proceedings to pay 3.8 billion yen, or $35 million, in damages to the victims.
Security was tight at Tokyo District Court to guard against disruptions by Asahara followers, and media reported that a decoy was used on the way to the court Friday morning to thwart any attempt to free the ex-guru. Some 4,600 people turned out for a shot at the 38 courtroom seats available to the public; spectators were chosen by lottery.
"I can't think of any other sentence but death for Asahara," said Yasutomo Kusakai, a 22-year-old college student who tried unsuccessfully to get a courtroom seat. "Many people were killed, and he's supposed to be the mastermind of the crimes that affected the society in a big way."
Asahara did not speak during the session, though he grinned as he was brought into the courtroom and made bizarre, comic faces during the proceedings.
Families of victims have spent years waiting for justice, though they say the trial's outcome will provide only limited solace. Shizue Takahashi, the widow of a subway worker who died in the attack, has faulted the police for failing to crack down on the cult before the gassing, despite clear evidence that the group was a threat.
On Friday, however, she said she looked forward to a guilty verdict.
"I'm glad that they've established his guilt in the other incidents covered this morning," she told reporters outside the court before the death sentence was announced.
Aum's weapons program was carried out by a coterie of highly educated scientists from Japan's best schools. Asahara's flock was bewitched by a mix of Hinduism, Buddhism and yoga that predicted an Armageddon that only cult members would survive.
The trial was lengthened by Japan's chronic shortage of lawyers and judges, the complexity of the case and a six-month delay caused by Asahara's firing of his first attorney. Friday's session was the 257th of the trial.
Police say the cult's remnants are showing signs of greater allegiance to Asahara. Agents this month raided the offices of the group, which still claims 1,650 members in Japan and 300 in Russia.