The Tokyo District Court on Monday handed former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive Naoko Kikuchi a five-year prison term for attempted murder in the 1995 Tokyo City Hall bombing but stopped short of finding her guilty on explosives charges due to lack of evidence.
The defendant "must have had some knowledge" of what she was doing while serving as an accomplice in the high-profile parcel bomb incident at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, the ruling said.
Kikuchi, 42, was on trial for attempted murder and violating the Explosives Control Act. But the district court didn't acknowledge her full guilt on grounds that, given the circumstances, she was probably unaware of exactly what kinds of unlawful activities she was involved in — one of which included the use of bombs. Citing ignorance, she pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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