The leader of the Japanese cult that killed 12 people in the 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway inched closer to execution yesterday after a court-appointed psychiatrist judged him sane. Lawyers representing Shoko Asahara argue that he is too ill for his trial to continue, saying he only mumbles “mmm” and stares at the floor whatever happens around him…
In court he talked to himself in what appeared to be broken English, fell asleep and failed to acknowledge questions from his lawyers. Asahara is now incontinent… a spokesman for the Tokyo high court revealed yesterday that a psychiatric report had decided he was fit. “The report states the defendant shows some symptoms from his time in prison but not to the extent of mental disorder,” she said. “He stays silent, faking dementia”…
Asahara was
sentenced to death by a lower court in 2004. With appeals his trial had been expected to last another decade, but his right to appeal may be lost as his lawyers missed the deadline, claiming they cannot communicate with him.
