Former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive Makoto Hirata was found guilty and sentenced Friday to nine years in prison for his role in the 1995 kidnapping and confinement of Tokyo notary Kiyoshi Kariya and two other crimes.
Despite his denials, Hirata "dutifully performed his roles in organized crimes he was instructed to engage in, fully aware of" their nature, presiding Judge Hiroaki Saito of the Tokyo District Court said of the ex-cultist's claims that his involvement in Kariya's abduction was not premeditated.
Hirata, 48, was also convicted of having a role in two bombings in 1995, first of the condominium belonging to university professor Hiromi Shimada and then to an Aum facility in Tokyo. Both bombings were designed as subterfuge to deflect suspicion of Aum for its major crimes.