Apocalypse cult guru sentenced to hang for Tokyo nerve gas attacks

FORMER Doomsday cult guru Shoko Asahara was sentenced to death today for masterminding the deadly 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway and a string of other attacks that killed 27 people.

Asahara, founder of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, was also convicted of ordering his followers to produce and stockpile arsenals of conventional and chemical weapons, including the sarin gas used in the subway attack.

Asahara, 48, stood in silence as the verdict guilty on all 13 counts and sentencing was read.