Toyko, Japan - The public prosecutors requested the Tokyo High Court on Friday to dismiss an appeal filed by Shoko Asahara, founder of the cult formerly known as AUM Shinrikyo, against a death sentence to him.
The court should dismiss the appeal because Asahara's defense team had not submitted to the court a document stating the reason for the appeal before the stipulated deadline, and because the court's psychiatric examination had found him mentally competent to undergo court proceedings, the prosecutors said.
Asahara was tried, found guilty and sentenced to death for a number of crimes committed by AUM, including the March 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack.