Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko Asahara

The 50-year-old Asahara "does not suffer mental problems and he is able to communicate," the report by a court-appointed psychiatrist concludes.

Asahara was sentenced to death at the Tokyo District Court for his role in 13 criminal cases, including the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system. The attack killed 12 people, sent thousands to the hospital and paralyzed the center of the city.

Other cases include a 1994 gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, that killed seven people, the murder of an anti-cult lawyer and his family, and other slayings.

Twelve other members of the cult have been sentenced to death for the subway gassing and other crimes. None has been executed.

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 25, 2006
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