Cult Leader Fires Lawyer, Delays Trial Trial In Tokyo Subway Gassing Was To Begin Today
Sixteen hours before what Japan has billed as its own “trial of the century” was to begin, Shoko Asahara, 40, the bearded cult leader accused of ordering a poison gas attack on subways here last March, forced a postponement of his murder trial by unexpectedly firing his lawyer Wednesday.
Tokyo District Court, which had spent months preparing for the trial, issued a rare statement condemning Asahara’s action as “extremely regrettable.” Several victims of the subway attack, which killed 11 people and sickened 5,500, accused him of trying to avoid trial.
Under Japanese law, a defendant may not be brought to trial for serious charges, such as murder, without a lawyer. In six indictments, Asahara is charged with ordering the murders of more than 20 people.
Representatives of Asahara’s doomsday cult, the Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth), offered no explanation why Asahara fired Shoji Yokoyama, 67, an Osaka attorney who handles mainly clients unable to repay debts to loan sharks. A day earlier, 10 of Yokoyama’s clients said they planned to sue him for mishandling funds they had given him to repay their creditors.
On Sunday, Yokoyama suffered what he described as a whiplash in a traffic accident while riding in a car driven by a cult member, but the lawyer had said he planned to appear in court today, as scheduled. He also told reporters Asahara planned to plead not guilty to all charges.
After Asahara fired Yokoyama, Asahara’s wife arranged for another attorney to defend her husband, but when that lawyer met Asahara, he quit.
Although Koken Tsuchiya, chairman of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, had publicly urged Asahara to hire at least 10 lawyers to handle his defense, the guru had employed only Yokoyama, an obscure figure who had offered his services to Asahara.
Tsuchiya and other bar association leaders acknowledged earlier that hostile public sentiment against Aum makes it difficult for any lawyer to defend Asahara and about 170 other Aum members who have been charged with a variety of crimes. The public tends to associate defense attorneys with the crimes of their clients, Tsuchiya said.