A Japanese court on Wednesday upheld the death sentences of two former cult members convicted of spraying nerve gas in the deadly 1995 attack on the Tokyo subways.
The Tokyo High Court rejected the appeals of Toru Toyoda, 36, and Kenichi Hirose, 40, who were sentenced to death by hanging by a lower court in 2000, court spokesman Sadakazu Takagi said.
The two were among five Aum Shinrikyo members who released sarin gas on subway trains on March 21, 1995, killing 12 people and injuring thousands.
The high court also upheld the Tokyo District Court ruling of life imprisonment for Shigeo Sugimoto, 45, who drove the getaway car for a third attacker.
A total of 13 former cultists have been sentenced to death for the subway gassing, including founder Shoko Asahara, who was sentenced to hang in February for masterminding the assault and about a dozen other cult crimes.
None of those convicted has been executed yet.
The cult has changed its name to Aleph and says it's now harmless. But Japan's intelligence agency says the group uses computer and yoga businesses to expand its membership, remains faithful to Asahara's violent teachings and is still a threat to society.
Though the group's membership has shrunk to nearly one-tenth of its peak, in Japan it still has 1,650 members — 650 live-in followers and 1,000 others who practice at home. The cult has another 300 followers in Russia.