TOKYO, June 1 (UPI) -- A Japanese scientist who produced the nerve gas used in a deadly attack in Tokyo is one step closer to execution.
The Tokyo High Court upheld the death sentence imposed by a lower court on Seiichi Endo, The Japan Times reported. Twelve people were killed and thousands injured when the Aum Shinrikyo cult released sarin in the subway during the morning rush hour on March 12, 1995.
"The accused played a vital role in manufacturing sarin, which was used on the subways. He bears the same criminal responsibility as those who carried out the attacks," Judge Osamu Ikeda said during Thursday's hearing.
Endo was also convicted of killing seven people in a sarin attack in 1994, and of two counts of attempted murder.
Ikeda rejected arguments from Endo's lawyers that a death sentence is too extreme a penalty for someone not directly involved in the attack, and that he had been brainwashed by Shoko Asahara, Aum Shinrikyo's founder. Endo was a graduate student in virology when he joined the cult.
Thirteen members of the group, including Asahara, have been sentenced to hang.
