DEATH SENTENCE FINALISED FOR EX-AUM MEMBER HASHIMOTO OVER GAS ATTACK

the Supreme Court finalized the death sentence it upheld last month for former senior AUM Shinrikyo cult member Satoru Hashimoto in two murder cases, including the 1994 sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, judicial sources said. In the final judicial process, the top court's second petty bench turned down a motion of correction filed by the defense team of Hashimoto, 40, after its ruling on Oct. 26, thus finalizing the sentence. It is the first death sentence to be finalized in connection with the Matsumoto gas attack. Hashimoto is the fourth person to receive a death sentence in connection with a series of crimes committed by AUM Shinrikyo. Hashimoto's death sentence was upheld for his involvement in two murder cases- the Matsumoto sarin gas attack and an attack on anti-AUM lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family- as well as his involvement in building a plant to mass-produce nerve gas. A motion of correction is made to seek a reexamination of words and phrases in a Supreme Court ruling.