Aum Shinrikyo follower Kiyohide Hayakawa reacted angrily Thursday to a lawyer's remark that he was once hostile to parents of live-in cultists who wanted their children returned.
"I was labeled by the media as a bad guy," Hayakawa told the Tokyo District Court during testimony in the trial of cult founder Shoko Asahara.
Hayakawa, 48, who has been accused of several crimes, including the November 1989 slayings of anti-Aum lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family, was being cross-examined by Asahara's defense counsel for the sixth day. During the morning session, a defense lawyer for Asahara quizzed Hayakawa about how he dealt with the parents of a live-in follower and their lawyer, Sakamoto, in August 1989, when they asked to meet the female cultist.
Hayakawa and five other cult followers stand accused of murdering Sakamoto, the attorney's wife and the couple's 1-year-old son three months later. Asahara allegedly masterminded the slayings. "The daughter has told investigators that you told Sakamoto that she had already cut ties with her parents and the cult would never release her, even if she died," the defense lawyer said.
Hayakawa denied making the remark, saying that on the contrary, he had felt sympathetic toward the parents. The lawyer cited another instance, in which Hiroyuki Nagaoka, the father of a former follower, was allegedly confronted by Hayakawa when he visited the cult to request that his son be allowed to leave
When the lawyer quoted testimony from Nagaoka claiming that Hayakawa had yelled at him, the cultist became defensive. "I never did such a thing," Hayakawa claimed in a strong voice. "That is an outright fabrication. I am really offended by that, and, in fact, I wish I could sue him for defamation."