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International Cultic Studies Association
Article News Summaries
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Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002 |
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| News Summaries |
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News Summaries: December 15, 2001 to January 15, 2002
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Group: Aum Shinrikyo, aka: Aleph |
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Founder: Shoko Asahara
aka: Chizu Matsumoto |
Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Terrorists Planned to Spring Leader / Russia
Three Russian Aum members Dmitri Shigachev, 24, Sergei Topeko, 28, and Dmitri Voronov, 32, stand accused and admit the substance of the accusation of having plotted to bomb various locations in Tokyo in a bid to spring Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko Asahara from prison. Banned in 1995 after the cult's lethal sarin gas attack on Tokyo subway commuters, Aum's Russian
branch nonetheless maintains a shadowy existence, with some 300 believers in Moscow performing devotions under the supervision of four Japanese Aum priests. (In Japan, Aum now calls itself Aleph.)
Shigachev, the youngest of the three defendants, is the trio's leader. In 1999 he used the Internet to recruit collaborators for a daring plan he had conceived. The logic was simple. "Asahara," co-defendant Topeko told the court, "should be free. Since there were no legal means to free him, we had no choice but to use terrorism and violence to
demand his release."
Flush with funds from an Aum-affiliated Japanese entrepreneur Shigachev met in Phuket, Thailand, the little group set to work. Topeko procured the weaponry. Voronov, a Vladivostok used-tire salesman, made local preparations, securing a garage to hide the arms in, renting an apartment-hideout for Asahara, and so on. In December 1999, Shigachev
and Topeko rode the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok with three sandbags filled with hand grenades, handmade bombs, and Tokarev and Kalashnikov firearms and ammunition. The following March, Shigachev traveled to Tokyo to scout the terrain.
Bombs were to be placed at Ueno Station, Shibuya Parco, a Shinjuku high-rise, a Shinagawa hotel, and in a gas storage facility of the Tokyo Detention Center, where Asahara is being held. Then the Japanese government would be warned: Free Asahara or expose the metropolis to devastating death and destruction. Meanwhile, eerily foreshadowing the
flying lessons taken by the Sept. 11 hijackers, the three men apparently took boating lessons as part of their preparations to spirit Asahara across the Sea of Japan to Russia.
Voronov's Chechen mother said: "My son was working with an oil exploration team in Chechnya when he fell from a tower. The doctors could do nothing for him. He visited Asahara, and in three days his injuries healed. That's when he became a believer. We escaped the Chechen war. In Russia we were recognized as refugees, but were given no
support. We drifted to Vladivostok. There was nothing here either. I can understand why my son became involved in something like this . . . " (Japan Times, 12/23/01, Internet)
Aum Leadership Change / Japan
Fumihiro Joyu, 39, a longtime spokesman for the Aum Shinrikyo cult and its de facto number two man, has announced that he will take over the group. He told a news conference at an Aum facility in Tokyo's Setagawa Ward that current leader Tatsuko Muraoka, 51, will step down and become chairwoman. (Kyodo News,
Japan Today, 12/28/01, Internet)
Warning on AUM's "Open Door" Policy / Japan
Aum Shinrikyo is trying to increase its appeal by portraying itself as an ''open cult'' in an effort to expand its operations, according to the annual report of the Public Security Investigation Agency. The report says that the group has established new headquarters at three Minami-Karasuyama condominium complexes in Tokyo's Setagaya
Ward, where the cult's regional leaders from across Japan meet monthly. The group has now opened a total of 11 facilities to local residents and posted contact numbers for more than 600 Aum followers on its Web site.
Searches of Aum facilities by the agency have uncovered a number of collections of Aum founder Shoko Asahara's preaching, discoveries the agency says reconfirm the cult's ''deceptive character.'' The cult has amassed huge funds through operating a series of personal computer shops and conducting ''initiations'' at which it collects monetary
offerings. (Kyodo News, 12/22 and 23/01, Internet)
Death Penalty Sought for Aum Leader / Japan
Prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for former Aum leader Tomomitsu Niimi, the group's former "home affairs minister." He is being tried for the murders of 26 people in seven separate attacks, including the 1995 subway operation. Niimi gained notoriety at the start of his trial in 1996 by refusing to enter pleas and pledging eternal
loyalty to Aum guru Shoko Asahara. He is also accused of helping to organize the 1989 strangulation of lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto, one of the first people to raise questions about the cult's activities.
Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, is being tried separately for allegedly masterminding the subway gas attack and other killings. The cult, which advocated overthrowing the Japanese government by sowing chaos, was declared bankrupt in March 1996 but has regrouped under a new name, Aleph. It is under surveillance by Japan's Public
Safety Agency, which has warned that the group is still a threat. (AP, 12/26/01, Internet)
Aum Programmer Accused of Data Theft / Japan
A computer programmer with ties to Aum is suspected of downloading confidential computer data from eight major companies and giving it to the cult, Tokyo police say. The victims of the alleged theft are all clients of NTT Communications Corp., where the Aum member worked as a subcontractor. (Kyodo News,
Japan Today, 12/19/01, Internet)
Aum Visitors Rejected by Russia / Russia
Russia refused entry to 16 Aum members in 2001, Federal Security Service (FSB) head Nikolay Patrushev said. The FSB declined to make public the nationality of the members or the purpose of their attempted visits. Aum, now outlawed in Russia, claims it used to have tens of thousands of followers in the country. (Kyodo News, Japan Today, 12/19/01, Internet)
Aum Death Sentence Upheld Despite "Mind Control" Claim / Japan
A Japanese court has upheld the death sentence of Aum Shinrikyo co-founder Kazuaki Okazaki, 41, convicted in 1998 of killing an anti-cult lawyer, his wife, and baby son. This was the first death sentence of a member of Aum now called Aleph the group that released nerve gas in the Tokyo subway in 1995. Okazaki argued that he acted
while under the "mind control" of Aum founder Chizu Matsumoto, better known by his pseudonym, Shoko Asahara. (BBC News, 12/13/01, Internet)
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___________________________________________^ |
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International Cultic Studies Association
Article News Summaries
|
|
|
Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002 |
|
| _______________________________________________ |
| News Summaries |
|
| |
News Summaries: December 15, 2001 to January 15, 2002
|
| |
Group: Aum Shinrikyo, aka: Aleph |
|
|
Founder: Shoko Asahara
aka: Chizu Matsumoto |
Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Terrorists Planned to Spring Leader / Russia
Three Russian Aum members Dmitri Shigachev, 24, Sergei Topeko, 28, and Dmitri Voronov, 32, stand accused and admit the substance of the accusation of having plotted to bomb various locations in Tokyo in a bid to spring Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko Asahara from prison. Banned in 1995 after the cult's lethal sarin gas attack on Tokyo subway commuters, Aum's Russian
branch nonetheless maintains a shadowy existence, with some 300 believers in Moscow performing devotions under the supervision of four Japanese Aum priests. (In Japan, Aum now calls itself Aleph.)
Shigachev, the youngest of the three defendants, is the trio's leader. In 1999 he used the Internet to recruit collaborators for a daring plan he had conceived. The logic was simple. "Asahara," co-defendant Topeko told the court, "should be free. Since there were no legal means to free him, we had no choice but to use terrorism and violence to
demand his release."
Flush with funds from an Aum-affiliated Japanese entrepreneur Shigachev met in Phuket, Thailand, the little group set to work. Topeko procured the weaponry. Voronov, a Vladivostok used-tire salesman, made local preparations, securing a garage to hide the arms in, renting an apartment-hideout for Asahara, and so on. In December 1999, Shigachev
and Topeko rode the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok with three sandbags filled with hand grenades, handmade bombs, and Tokarev and Kalashnikov firearms and ammunition. The following March, Shigachev traveled to Tokyo to scout the terrain.
Bombs were to be placed at Ueno Station, Shibuya Parco, a Shinjuku high-rise, a Shinagawa hotel, and in a gas storage facility of the Tokyo Detention Center, where Asahara is being held. Then the Japanese government would be warned: Free Asahara or expose the metropolis to devastating death and destruction. Meanwhile, eerily foreshadowing the
flying lessons taken by the Sept. 11 hijackers, the three men apparently took boating lessons as part of their preparations to spirit Asahara across the Sea of Japan to Russia.
Voronov's Chechen mother said: "My son was working with an oil exploration team in Chechnya when he fell from a tower. The doctors could do nothing for him. He visited Asahara, and in three days his injuries healed. That's when he became a believer. We escaped the Chechen war. In Russia we were recognized as refugees, but were given no
support. We drifted to Vladivostok. There was nothing here either. I can understand why my son became involved in something like this . . . " (Japan Times, 12/23/01, Internet)
Aum Leadership Change / Japan
Fumihiro Joyu, 39, a longtime spokesman for the Aum Shinrikyo cult and its de facto number two man, has announced that he will take over the group. He told a news conference at an Aum facility in Tokyo's Setagawa Ward that current leader Tatsuko Muraoka, 51, will step down and become chairwoman. (Kyodo News,
Japan Today, 12/28/01, Internet)
Warning on AUM's "Open Door" Policy / Japan
Aum Shinrikyo is trying to increase its appeal by portraying itself as an ''open cult'' in an effort to expand its operations, according to the annual report of the Public Security Investigation Agency. The report says that the group has established new headquarters at three Minami-Karasuyama condominium complexes in Tokyo's Setagaya
Ward, where the cult's regional leaders from across Japan meet monthly. The group has now opened a total of 11 facilities to local residents and posted contact numbers for more than 600 Aum followers on its Web site.
Searches of Aum facilities by the agency have uncovered a number of collections of Aum founder Shoko Asahara's preaching, discoveries the agency says reconfirm the cult's ''deceptive character.'' The cult has amassed huge funds through operating a series of personal computer shops and conducting ''initiations'' at which it collects monetary
offerings. (Kyodo News, 12/22 and 23/01, Internet)
Death Penalty Sought for Aum Leader / Japan
Prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for former Aum leader Tomomitsu Niimi, the group's former "home affairs minister." He is being tried for the murders of 26 people in seven separate attacks, including the 1995 subway operation. Niimi gained notoriety at the start of his trial in 1996 by refusing to enter pleas and pledging eternal
loyalty to Aum guru Shoko Asahara. He is also accused of helping to organize the 1989 strangulation of lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto, one of the first people to raise questions about the cult's activities.
Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, is being tried separately for allegedly masterminding the subway gas attack and other killings. The cult, which advocated overthrowing the Japanese government by sowing chaos, was declared bankrupt in March 1996 but has regrouped under a new name, Aleph. It is under surveillance by Japan's Public
Safety Agency, which has warned that the group is still a threat. (AP, 12/26/01, Internet)
Aum Programmer Accused of Data Theft / Japan
A computer programmer with ties to Aum is suspected of downloading confidential computer data from eight major companies and giving it to the cult, Tokyo police say. The victims of the alleged theft are all clients of NTT Communications Corp., where the Aum member worked as a subcontractor. (Kyodo News,
Japan Today, 12/19/01, Internet)
Aum Visitors Rejected by Russia / Russia
Russia refused entry to 16 Aum members in 2001, Federal Security Service (FSB) head Nikolay Patrushev said. The FSB declined to make public the nationality of the members or the purpose of their attempted visits. Aum, now outlawed in Russia, claims it used to have tens of thousands of followers in the country. (Kyodo News, Japan Today, 12/19/01, Internet)
Aum Death Sentence Upheld Despite "Mind Control" Claim / Japan
A Japanese court has upheld the death sentence of Aum Shinrikyo co-founder Kazuaki Okazaki, 41, convicted in 1998 of killing an anti-cult lawyer, his wife, and baby son. This was the first death sentence of a member of Aum now called Aleph the group that released nerve gas in the Tokyo subway in 1995. Okazaki argued that he acted
while under the "mind control" of Aum founder Chizu Matsumoto, better known by his pseudonym, Shoko Asahara. (BBC News, 12/13/01, Internet)
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| _____________________________________________ ^ |
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___________________________________________^ |
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International Cultic Studies Association
Article News Summaries
|
|
|
Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002 |
|
| _______________________________________________ |
| News Summaries |
|
| |
News Summaries: December 15, 2001 to January 15, 2002
|
| |
Group: Aum Shinrikyo, aka: Aleph |
|
|
Founder: Shoko Asahara
aka: Chizu Matsumoto |
Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Terrorists Planned to Spring Leader / Russia
Three Russian Aum members Dmitri Shigachev, 24, Sergei Topeko, 28, and Dmitri Voronov, 32, stand accused and admit the substance of the accusation of having plotted to bomb various locations in Tokyo in a bid to spring Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko Asahara from prison. Banned in 1995 after the cult's lethal sarin gas attack on Tokyo subway commuters, Aum's Russian
branch nonetheless maintains a shadowy existence, with some 300 believers in Moscow performing devotions under the supervision of four Japanese Aum priests. (In Japan, Aum now calls itself Aleph.)
Shigachev, the youngest of the three defendants, is the trio's leader. In 1999 he used the Internet to recruit collaborators for a daring plan he had conceived. The logic was simple. "Asahara," co-defendant Topeko told the court, "should be free. Since there were no legal means to free him, we had no choice but to use terrorism and violence to
demand his release."
Flush with funds from an Aum-affiliated Japanese entrepreneur Shigachev met in Phuket, Thailand, the little group set to work. Topeko procured the weaponry. Voronov, a Vladivostok used-tire salesman, made local preparations, securing a garage to hide the arms in, renting an apartment-hideout for Asahara, and so on. In December 1999, Shigachev
and Topeko rode the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok with three sandbags filled with hand grenades, handmade bombs, and Tokarev and Kalashnikov firearms and ammunition. The following March, Shigachev traveled to Tokyo to scout the terrain.
Bombs were to be placed at Ueno Station, Shibuya Parco, a Shinjuku high-rise, a Shinagawa hotel, and in a gas storage facility of the Tokyo Detention Center, where Asahara is being held. Then the Japanese government would be warned: Free Asahara or expose the metropolis to devastating death and destruction. Meanwhile, eerily foreshadowing the
flying lessons taken by the Sept. 11 hijackers, the three men apparently took boating lessons as part of their preparations to spirit Asahara across the Sea of Japan to Russia.
Voronov's Chechen mother said: "My son was working with an oil exploration team in Chechnya when he fell from a tower. The doctors could do nothing for him. He visited Asahara, and in three days his injuries healed. That's when he became a believer. We escaped the Chechen war. In Russia we were recognized as refugees, but were given no
support. We drifted to Vladivostok. There was nothing here either. I can understand why my son became involved in something like this . . . " (Japan Times, 12/23/01, Internet)
Aum Leadership Change / Japan
Fumihiro Joyu, 39, a longtime spokesman for the Aum Shinrikyo cult and its de facto number two man, has announced that he will take over the group. He told a news conference at an Aum facility in Tokyo's Setagawa Ward that current leader Tatsuko Muraoka, 51, will step down and become chairwoman. (Kyodo News,
Japan Today, 12/28/01, Internet)
Warning on AUM's "Open Door" Policy / Japan
Aum Shinrikyo is trying to increase its appeal by portraying itself as an ''open cult'' in an effort to expand its operations, according to the annual report of the Public Security Investigation Agency. The report says that the group has established new headquarters at three Minami-Karasuyama condominium complexes in Tokyo's Setagaya
Ward, where the cult's regional leaders from across Japan meet monthly. The group has now opened a total of 11 facilities to local residents and posted contact numbers for more than 600 Aum followers on its Web site.
Searches of Aum facilities by the agency have uncovered a number of collections of Aum founder Shoko Asahara's preaching, discoveries the agency says reconfirm the cult's ''deceptive character.'' The cult has amassed huge funds through operating a series of personal computer shops and conducting ''initiations'' at which it collects monetary
offerings. (Kyodo News, 12/22 and 23/01, Internet)
Death Penalty Sought for Aum Leader / Japan
Prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for former Aum leader Tomomitsu Niimi, the group's former "home affairs minister." He is being tried for the murders of 26 people in seven separate attacks, including the 1995 subway operation. Niimi gained notoriety at the start of his trial in 1996 by refusing to enter pleas and pledging eternal
loyalty to Aum guru Shoko Asahara. He is also accused of helping to organize the 1989 strangulation of lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto, one of the first people to raise questions about the cult's activities.
Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, is being tried separately for allegedly masterminding the subway gas attack and other killings. The cult, which advocated overthrowing the Japanese government by sowing chaos, was declared bankrupt in March 1996 but has regrouped under a new name, Aleph. It is under surveillance by Japan's Public
Safety Agency, which has warned that the group is still a threat. (AP, 12/26/01, Internet)
Aum Programmer Accused of Data Theft / Japan
A computer programmer with ties to Aum is suspected of downloading confidential computer data from eight major companies and giving it to the cult, Tokyo police say. The victims of the alleged theft are all clients of NTT Communications Corp., where the Aum member worked as a subcontractor. (Kyodo News,
Japan Today, 12/19/01, Internet)
Aum Visitors Rejected by Russia / Russia
Russia refused entry to 16 Aum members in 2001, Federal Security Service (FSB) head Nikolay Patrushev said. The FSB declined to make public the nationality of the members or the purpose of their attempted visits. Aum, now outlawed in Russia, claims it used to have tens of thousands of followers in the country. (Kyodo News, Japan Today, 12/19/01, Internet)
Aum Death Sentence Upheld Despite "Mind Control" Claim / Japan
A Japanese court has upheld the death sentence of Aum Shinrikyo co-founder Kazuaki Okazaki, 41, convicted in 1998 of killing an anti-cult lawyer, his wife, and baby son. This was the first death sentence of a member of Aum now called Aleph the group that released nerve gas in the Tokyo subway in 1995. Okazaki argued that he acted
while under the "mind control" of Aum founder Chizu Matsumoto, better known by his pseudonym, Shoko Asahara. (BBC News, 12/13/01, Internet)
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News Summaries - group