Supreme Court finishes Aum Shinrikyo cases after 23 years

January 20, 2018

Tokyo- The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by former Aum Shinrikyo cult member Katsuya Takahashi against his indefinite prison term for the cult's sarin attack on Tokyo's subway system in 1995 and other Aum Shinrikyo-related crimes, it was learned on Friday.

The ruling, dated Thursday, puts an end to a series of Aum Shinrikyo-related cases, nearly 23 years after the fatal gas attack in March 1995, which was followed by simultaneous police raids on the cult's facilities.

A total of 29 people were killed and about 6,000 injured in the cult' crimes, also including a mail bomb attack on the metropolitan government office and murder and attempted murder cases involving highly toxic VX gas.

A total of 192 suspects were indicted over the cases, and 13 of them, including the cult's guru, Chizuo Matsumoto, also known as Shoko Asahara, were sentenced to death.

Matsumoto, 62, was given a death sentence by Tokyo District Court in February 2004. His sentence became final in September 2006.

Of those indicted, all but two were ruled guilty.

Takahashi, 59, was arrested in Tokyo in 2012 after 17 years on the run. He was the last remaining Aum fugitive.

According to the ruling, Takahashi conspired with Matsumoto and others to release sarin, a deadly nerve gas, in five subway trains in Tokyo in March 1995. The attack killed 12 people.

In his trial, Takahashi pleaded innocent to murder and other charges against him. But in 2015, Tokyo District Court found him guilty, saying that he was aware of the plot to release sarin and other dangerous materials. His appeal was rejected by Tokyo High Court and the Supreme Court. Jiji Press