The head of the defense team for AUM Shinrikyo founder...

The head of the defense team for AUM Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara criticized the verdict against the cult leader, saying the reasons for his being given the death penalty were unpersuasive. "There was no convincing explanation of why those sorts of incidents (the crimes he was charged with) occurred. We have been seeking to have the court recognize the facts based on evidence, but this was all ignored," Osamu Watanabe told a press conference. Asahara's 12-member defense team, all state-appointed lawyers, immediately appealed to the Tokyo High Court as a matter of course, though Asahara himself showed no willingness to appeal.