Three Aum Shinrikyo figures, two of whom were sentenced to death for their involvement in the 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system, filed appeals Tuesday with the Tokyo High Court, sources close to the defendants said.

Toru Toyoda, 32, and Kenichi Hirose, 36, are appealing their death sentences, and Shigeo Sugimoto, 41, his life sentence for his involvement in the attack, all meted out by the Tokyo District Court on July 17.

At the time of their trial, attorneys representing Toyoda and Hirose had argued the death sentence is too severe.