The Supreme Court has finalized the death sentence of Aum Shinrikyo figure Masato Yokoyama for his role in the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, rejecting the defense demand for leniency on grounds that the nerve gas he released claimed no lives, judicial sources said Friday.
Among the five Aum members convicted of having a direct role in the deadly gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, Yokoyama, 43, is the first whose death sentence has been finalized. The gassing killed 12 people and injured more than 5,000.
Two other Aum figures convicted of the cult's murders and other serious crimes have had their death sentences finalized.
They are founder Shoko Asahara, 52, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto. He was convicted of masterminding and ordering the attack but not playing a direct role in it.
