Lawyers for a former cult guru convicted of masterminding a deadly nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subways want his appeal to be suspended because he is unfit to stand trial, media reports said Monday.
Shoko Asahara, 49, was convicted and sentenced to death by a district court in February for the March 20, 1995 subway attack that killed 12 people and sickened thousands of commuters, as well as a series of other attacks and murders. His lawyers have appealed.
But the lawyers late last month asked the Tokyo High Court to suspend Asahara's appeal after a psychiatric evaluation found him unable to stand trial, public broadcaster NHK and other Japanese media said.
Asahara alternated between incoherent ranting and sullen silence in the nearly 10 years of hearings that led up to his February conviction. He has also reportedly refused to communicate with his lawyers or family members.
A psychiatrist, employed by his defense, said he believed Asahara could be suffering from a brain disorder or be observing silence as a kind of religious activity, the reports said.
The defense wants him to be tested for mental illness and treated before proceeding with the appeal, the reports said.
Officials were not available for immediate comment.
Asahara and 12 other members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult have been sentenced to death for the subway gassing and other crimes. None have yet been executed.
Aum once claimed 10,000 followers in Japan and 30,000 in Russia. Following a name change after a police crackdown, it currently has an estimated 6,500 members.