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Aum Cult Founder Asahara Sentenced to Death.
(From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI))
Aum Shinrikyo cult founder Asahara Shoko was sentenced to death by the Tokyo District Court on Feb. 27 for ordering a series of brutal crimes committed by cult members.
The court found the guru, whose real name is Matsumoto Chizuo, guilty on 13 accounts in connection with crimes that caused 27 deaths, including the June 1994 sarin attack in Matsumoto and the March 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system. The death sentence had been demanded by prosecutors.
The verdict identified Asahara as the mastermind of the crimes and concluded that the guru planned to rule Japan in the name of salvation and his objective was so wretched and stupid that it merits the ultimate criticism. The victims' families have suffered so deeply from Asahara's crimes that there could be no other sentence than the death penalty, Presiding Judge Ogawa Shoji said.
The court found Asahara guilty on all 13 accounts and rejected the defense counsel's claim that the crimes were committed by Asahara's followers and the guru himself was innocent. The court determined that Asahara conspired with his followers in all cases.
Referring to the sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system, which killed 12 people and injured more than 5,500, Ogawa noted that Aum members resorted to the brutal action out of fear that the police would raid their facilities before they armed themselves and they thought that the police would not carry out the raid if they launched an indiscriminate terrorist attack first.
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