Japan court upholds death sentence for cultist

JAPAN: A Tokyo court on Friday upheld the death sentence for a top member of the doomsday cult charged with a nerve gas attack on Tokyo subway trains in 1995 that killed 12, sickened thousands and shattered Japan's myth of public safety.

The Tokyo High Court rejected an appeal by Masami Tsuchiya, a top chemist in the cult, against a lower court ruling in January 2004 sentencing him to hang.

The court said Tsuchiya had played a key role in producing sarin nerve gas and other toxic chemicals used in crimes committed by the Aum Shinri Kyo doomsday cult, including the 1995 Tokyo subway attack.

"It is not an exaggeration to say that without him, the AUM-related crimes in which chemical weapons were used could not have taken place," the Tokyo District Court said, according to Kyodo news agency. "He played a major role in a series of crimes."

It was not immediately clear whether the 41-year-old Tsuchiya would appeal Friday's ruling. The other cult members condemned to death include its guru, Shoko Asahara.

None have been hanged yet. Asahara, the founder and former leader of AUM, was found guilty of responsibility for the gas attack and sentenced to death by the Tokyo District Court in February 2004.

Asahara's defence counsel filed a special appeal in June at the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the Tokyo High Court's rejection of his appeal against the death sentence.

Tokyo, Friday, Reuters