TOKYO — The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by former Aum Shinrikyo cult member Koichi Kitamura, thereby confirming his sentence of life imprisonment for murder for his role as the driver of a getaway vehicle in the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, informed sources said Wednesday.
The Supreme Court decision, dated Tuesday, upheld the rulings of the Tokyo District and High courts. The high court ruling said Kitamura, 35, played his role as driver coldly and faithfully in an atrocious and inhumane crime.