Seven-year Japanese cult trial to end next year

A court verdict is expected in February on the doomsday cult guru charged with masterminding a 1995 Tokyo tube nerve gas attack, it is reported today.

After a trial lasting more than seven years, the Tokyo District Court will hand down the verdict for Shoko Asahara, 48, on February 27, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK and other media reported.

Prosecutors demanded in April that Asahara be hanged for his alleged role in the gassing and a string of other crimes that shocked Japan.