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Death Sentence Upheld for Tokyo Subway Attacker
The Tokyo High Court today upheld the death sentence for a member of the cult that carried out the deadly 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, March 2). Tomomitsu Niimi was accused of bringing the chemical agent to the subway in which 12 people were killed and thousands of others were injured, according to AP. He was also charged with aiding the Aum Shinrikyo’s first sarin attack in 1994 and was a conspirator in the murders of a lawyer and his family. “I have to say these are extraordinarily heinous crimes,” said presiding judge Kunio Harada. “Even if the defendant believed those were acts based on his religious belief, that wouldn’t possibly excuse him from the death sentence.” While he apologized, Niimi maintained that the murders were based on his religious beliefs, Jiji Press reported. The judge questioned Niimi’s apology: “I don’t understand why you apologize while still justifying your actions with your confidence.” “I wanted to ease, even a little bit, the feelings of the victims’ family members,” Niimi replied. “I didn’t just say that and I don’t expect the sentence to be reduced because of that.” “I expect the death sentence to come,” he added. “I don’t intend to return to society.” Thirteen Aum members are sentenced to be hanged, but no executions have yet been carried out and only one defendant has used up his appeals, AFP reported (Agence France-Presse/TodayOnline.com, March 15).
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