Toyko, Japan - Masami Tsuchiya, a former senior member of AUM Shinrikyo, on Thursday appealed a death sentence to the Supreme Court for his role in making sarin and other poisons used in crimes committed by the cult, including the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, his lawyer said.
Last Friday, the Tokyo High Court handed down the capital punishment for the 41-year-old defendant, rejecting his appeal against the death sentence passed on him in January 2004 by the Tokyo District Court, which found him guilty on six out of seven counts, the exception being a charge of hiding two wanted AUM members.
He was found guilty of murder and other crimes that led to the deaths of 20 people.