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AUM's Asahara mentally fit to stand trial+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, Feb. 20_(Kyodo) _ The mental condition of Shoko Asahara, founder of the religious cult formerly known as AUM Shinrikyo, is sufficient enough for him to stand trial in a courtroom, according to sources familiar with an expert report submitted Monday to the Tokyo High Court. The 50-year-old Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, was sentenced to death at the Tokyo District Court over 13 counts of crimes including the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system. His competency to stand trial has been a point of controversy, with his defense team demanding that the high court, to which he appealed the initial ruling, suspend the trial. AUM Shinrikyo has renamed itself Aleph. |