DATE=6/29/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=JAPAN CULT (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-263886
BYLINE=JOCELYN FORD
DATELINE=TOKYO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A Japanese court on Thursday issued its
second death sentence to a member of the Aum
Shinrikyo (ohm shinleekyo) so-called Doomsday
Cult - responsible for the 1995 nerve gas attack
on the Tokyo subways. Twelve people died in that
attack, and more than five thousand other
commuters fell ill. Jocelyn Ford has more from
Tokyo.
TEXT: The Tokyo district court said 42-year-old
Yasuo Hayashi deserved the death sentence because
he released the largest amount of sarin gas in
the Tokyo subway.
/// OPT ///
Hayashi had also participated in an earlier
gas attack that killed seven people, and
after the Tokyo subway attack, he took part
in a third attempted cyanide gassing that
failed.
/// END OPT ///
Nicknamed the "murder machine" by Japan's media,
Hayashi had been a senior member of the Aum
Shinrikyo's science and technology team.
He is believed to have played a key role in other
crimes committed by the cult, such as harassing
and killing former believers who quit.
Hayashi's lawyers said the sentence was too harsh
because Hayashi released the sarin gas under
threat of death if he disobeyed the cult's
leader, Shoko Asahara.
But Tokyo district court Judge Kiyoshi Kimura
rejected the defense lawyer's claim, saying
Hayashi may have feared Asahara, but was not
acting under threat of death. Hayashi's lawyers
say they may file an appeal.
Of the five cult members who released sarin gas,
Hayashi is the third to be sentenced. One was
imprisoned for life, and another also received a
death sentence.
The guru, Shoko Asahara, is still on trial. Some
legal experts predict it could take more than 15
years for a final verdict because of Japan's
notoriously slow courts.
/// REST OPT ///
Meanwhile, the cult is still active, although it
has changed its name, and claims it is now a
peaceful organization. In May, the group's one
thousand members said it would pay 38 million
dollars in compensation to victims of the 1995
subway attack.
Early this year, the government used a new law
targeting subversive groups to put the group
under surveillance for three years, giving
authorities the right to inspect facilities.
(Signed)
NEB/JF/G/GC/JO/TVM/KL
29-Jun-2000 07:48 AM EDT (29-Jun-2000 1148 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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