TOKYO, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday rejected a defense motion against the death sentence of the cult founder convicted over the deadly 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway.
With the rejection to the appeal, the death sentence of Shoko Asahara, founder of the former Aum Shinrikyo will probably stand, Kyodo News said.
The defense counsel can file a special appeal with the top court within five days. If the high court decision is upheld, Asahara's death sentence will stand without an appeal, it said.
The Tokyo High Court had rejected the defense's appeal against the death sentence in March, prompting Asahara's lawyers to file a defense motion.
Asahara, formerly named Chizuo Matsumoto, was sentenced to death at the Tokyo District Court in 2004 for masterminding two nerve-gas assaults in Tokyo in 1995 and in Matsumoto, Nagano prefecture in 1994, as well as other criminal charges.
The gas attack on the Tokyo subway killed twelve people and left more than 5,500 others injured. In the Matsumoto attack, seven people were killed.
About ten other Aum Shinrikyo leaders have been sentenced to death, but none have been executed. The Aum Shinrikyo renamed itself Aleph in January 2000 and is under surveillance of Japan's Public Safety Agency. Enditem
