Tokyo, Japan - The family of AUM Shinrikyo cult founder Shoko Asahara has filed a request with the Tokyo District Court to move him from the Tokyo Detention House to a medical facility as he may be suffering from physical and mental disorders, the family's lawyers said Tuesday.
The family has asked the court for habeas corpus for Asahara, a legal procedure to return liberty to a person who is unreasonably deprived of personal liberty, the lawyers said.
The lawyers said 50-year-old Asahara should be transferred to a medical facility as the detention house failed to check on his possible ailment.
Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, was sentenced to death by the Tokyo District Court on Feb. 27 last year for his role in 13 criminal cases, including the fatal sarin attack on Tokyo subway trains in 1995. His defense team has appealed the ruling.
Asahara's defense team sought a suspension of the trial, saying he is not capable of continuing with court proceedings due to physical and mental disorders, but the Tokyo High Court rejected the request last December after the judges met with the defendant.