JAPAN: The former leader of a Japanese doomsday cult sentenced to hang for masterminding a 1995 fatal gas attack on Tokyo subways has been found to be mentally fit to continue his appeal.
Lawyers for Shoko Asahara had argued that the 50-year-old ex-head of Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth Sect) was incompetent and had requested that the case be suspended.
Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, was found guilty of responsibility for the nerve gas attack that killed 12 and sickened thousands, and was sentenced to death by a Tokyo court in February 2004.
The results of the evaluation clear the way for the Tokyo High Court either to proceed with the appeal, where Asahara's death sentence is widely expected to be upheld, or to dismiss it, thus finalising the verdict, Japanese media said.