TOKYO — The founder of the apocalyptic Aum Shinrikyo cult was convicted Jan. 27 and sentenced to hang for leading the deadly 1995 nerve gas attack on Tokyo’s subway.
Lawyers for Shoko Asahara said they would appeal, starting a process that could take another decade to conclude, the Associated Press reported.
He was sentenced to death for serving as the mastermind of a string of crimes that ended with the subway attack that killed 27 people.
Asahara, 48, is the 12th former Aum member to be sentenced to death. None of the others has been executed.
When it was most successful, Aum claimed 10,000 adherents in Japan and 30,000 in Russia.
Police say remnants of the cult — renamed Aleph in 2000 — are demonstrating greater allegiance to Asahara. After the verdict, the group issued a statement apologizing to the victims’ families.
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