The counsel for senior Aum Shinrikyo figure Masami Tsuchiya entered a not guilty plea Wednesday on behalf of their client as his Tokyo High Court appeal trial began against his death sentence for 13 cult-perpetrated murders, including those in the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack.
The defense claimed Tsuchiya, 40, who was sentenced to death in January 2004 by the Tokyo District Court for playing a key role in the cult's crimes, had merely acted on instructions from higher-ranked members of the sect.
Tsuchiya is the 11th cultist to be sentenced to death in connection with crimes committed by Aum Shinrikyo, which was founded by Shoko Asahara in the 1980s.
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