Global Security Newswire

Attorneys for Aum Shinrikyo cult leader Shoko Asahara argued in their closing statements that cult members acted on their own when they conducted a 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system, the Los Angeles Times reported today (see GSN, Oct. 29). Asahara, currently on trial for ordering the attack, could be sentenced to death if convicted (Los Angeles Times, Oct. 31). 

So far, 10 Aum members have been sentenced to death in Japan for their involvement in various cult attacks (Mike Nartker, GSN, Oct. 31).