Skip to main content.
Related sites:
Religion News Blog is a non-profit service providing academics, religion professionals and other researchers with religion & cult news
ReligionNewsBlog

Religion news articles about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues

Navigation:
Web religionnewsblog.com
Home | Site Menu | About RNB | RNB Store | Cult FAQ | Cult Experts | Apologetics Index | Cult Information Search Engine


Related

More news articles & news archive on Aum Shinrikyo


Advertisements *

Advertise on Religion News Blog Advertise Here *
Simple steps to financial health and a good credit score


Elsewhere

What's up with the Emerging Church?


Aum Shinrikyo:

Death penalty for Japan cult guru

BBC, UK
Feb. 27, 2004
news.bbc.co.uk
  • Article Tools  • Share This Story

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 6221 • Posted: Friday February 27, 2004  

Click here... More articles on this topic: Aum Shinrikyo

Shoko Asahara, the leader of a Japanese doomsday cult which gassed the Tokyo subway in 1995, has been sentenced to death for ordering the attack.

The sarin strike killed 12 people and injured thousands more.

Video Report

It shocked Japan and shed light on the fanatical Aum Shinrikyo group, which was obsessed with chemical and biological weapons.

Eleven other Aum members have received death sentences, though none have been executed pending appeals.

Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, stood passively and said nothing as he was found guilty of all 13 charges of murder and attempted murder.

Thousands of people arrived to try and get a courtside seat; spectators were reportedly chosen by lottery.

The judges in the Tokyo District Court rejected defence arguments that Asahara had lost control of his followers by the time of the 1995 attack.

His crimes included ordering another sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in 1994, which killed seven people, and the killing of several wayward cult members or their relatives.

But it was the Tokyo subway attack at the height of the city’s rush hour, which most shocked Japan. Survivors still suffer from headaches, breathing troubles and dizziness.

“I can’t think of any other sentence but death for Asahara,” said Yasutomo Kusakai, a 22-year-old college student outside the court.

“Many people were killed, and he’s supposed to be the mastermind of the crimes that affected the society in a big way.”

Silence

The verdict is the culmination of a nearly eight-year trial, during which Asahara has remained largely silent.

It is still not clear exactly why Asahara ordered the Tokyo attack. The group mixed Buddhist, Hindu and Christian tenets and believed some kind of Armageddon was imminent.

The group had also begun to feel threatened by the police at the time of the subway strike and some analysts believe it was in part designed to delay and confuse the authorities.

Aum is still operating, albeit under the new name of Aleph and with a supposedly benign new remit. However, the Japanese police still monitor it closely and believe it is still dangerous.

Religion News Blog RSS feed Subscribe: Religion News Blog RSS feed  |  Religion News Blog RSS feed Subscribe by topic: Aum Shinrikyo
more cult news articlemore religion news More articles about Aum Shinrikyo

Like this story?

Today's Most Popular Articles

Doctor Says...

Share this

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:




Article and Site Tools

» PermaLink to: Death penalty for Japan cult guru
   Need a shorter link? You can remove everything after the final /
» More news articles + news archive on Aum Shinrikyo
» More religion and cult news

Subscribe (RSS / Email) [What is RSS?]
» RSS News Feed - All Topics: Religion News Blog RSS Feed
» RSS News Feed - Single Topic: Aum Shinrikyo
» Headlines by Email: Daily Religion News Blog Headlines

More Article Tools
• Bookmark / Tag: Del.icio.us
• Bookmark / Tag: Furl
Save this article
Email this article
Print this article [Temporarily out of order]

More Information
Books about Aum Shinrikyo
Relevant books (and other goodies)

About Religion News Blog
Religion News Blog (RNB), published by Apologetics Index, highlights news items and other resources on world religions, cults, religious sects, alternative religions and related issues. RNB's non-profit news clipping service is used by - among others - Christian apologists, countercult professionals, anticult organizations, cult experts, teachers, religion professionals, reporters and other researchers.