(Mainichi) Aum Shinrikyo cult founder Shoko Asahara, sentenced to death for masterminding the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system and other acts that resulted in the deaths of 29 people, was hanged Friday, sources close to the matter said.
The 63-year-old cult founder, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto, was the first to be executed among the 13 people placed on death row in connection with a series of crimes perpetrated by the doomsday cult. The 12 others are former followers who acted on behalf of their guru.
Asahara was arrested in May 1995, just under two months after the March 20 subway attack, which claimed the lives of 13 people and left more than 6,200 others injured.
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