In a barely intelligible statement, sometimes using English and sometimes Japanese, Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara said April 24 that he is not guilty of ordering the 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system or a series of other crimes.
"I issued an order to stop (the subway attack) but was defeated (by my disciples) and arrested," Asahara told the Tokyo District Court in Japanese, referring to Yoshihiro Inoue and the late Hideo Murai, both key members of the cult who have been implicated in the nerve gas attack. The statement was Asahara's first for the court record since his trial began last April.
Until last July, Asahara repeatedly stated that he had nothing to say about the alleged crimes. In October, speaking during witness testimony, he said he would accept the blame but then added he was innocent.