Last Tokyo subway gas attack suspect jailed for life
Source: AFP
The final suspect in the 1995 deadly nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway was jailed for life on Thursday, for his part in a crime that shocked the world.
Katsuya Takahashi, a 57-year-old former member of the Aum Supreme Truth cult, served as a driver for one of the cultists who released the Nazi-developed sarin gas in the subway system, killing 13 people and injuring some 6,000.
While Takahashi denied knowledge about the planned gas attack, Tokyo District Court's presiding judge Tomomi Nakazato ruled that he knew about what would become Japan's worst terrorist attack, an incident that sowed panic throughout the nation, according to Jiji Press.
Local media highlighted how during his court hearings Takahashi remained loyal to the cult's half-blind guru and did not utter an apology over a series of crimes committed by the group.
Police captured Takahashi in June 2012 after he had been on the run for 17 years, bringing to an end the hunt for those thought to be behind the horrific act.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3062102/Last-Tokyo-subway-gas-attack-suspect-jailed-life.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
I do not want to appear to oppose giving this man life, but the "Daily News" has lived up to its reputation for accuracy... i.e. none.
Yes, Sarin was developed before WWII in Germany, but it was developed independent of the Nazis. Sarin was the first "Nerve Gas". Britain and the US was also doing research on such "Nerve Gases" but in the US the research was paid for by the Department if Agriculture and aimed at insecticides (There are SOME minor differences between DDT and Nerve gas, but the biggest difference is concentration, both work on the nerve endings on insects and people and those endings are for all practical purposes the same. These gases block transmissions of electronic messages to the muscles, thus causing the muscles, including involuntary muscles like breathing and your heart, from working).
Anyway, Sarin was the German Name for these agents. DDT was the result of American Research on the same lines.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerve_agent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT
Please note the Germans discovered the "G" series of Nerve Agents (which include Sarin) and are NON-PERSISTENT gases. i.e. they quickly break down in the natural environment.
The US developed "V" series of Nerve gases came out of DDT research for the Department of Agriculture wanted a "Persistent" insecticide, one that remains effective for some time. The US Chemical Warfare Nerve gas were all "V" series except for some use of Sarin (Gas "GB"
in the early 1950s.
Side Note: The only time Hitler approved the use of Gas was in the Siege of Leningrad, but retain final approval of the use, approval he never agreed to. Hitler's approval was required to prepare the German Plan to take Leningrad at the height of the Siege of that city (now knows as St Petersburgh). German planners noted the lack of Chemical Warfare masks for the civilians of Leningrad and since they were an integral part of the defense of that city, they were unprepared for Chemical Warfare, and Chemical Warfare is most effective against such unprepared civilians. The Germans determined they could take Leningrad with ease if Gas was used. Hitler approved the making of the Chemicals, shipping them to the front and planning the use of the Chemicals, but NEVER gave his final approval. Hitler had been gassed during WWI and it is believe that is why he never approved the plan to be actually carried out.
On the other hand Churchill DID give final approval of the use of Gas during WWII if any German Units cross the channel as part of a German Invasion of England. Churchill had previously approved the use of Gas in Iraq in the early 1920s when the Iraqis refused to submit to British rule (Through it appears the use of gas was NOT done in Iraq in 1921).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alleged_British_use_of_chemical_weapons_in_Mesopotamia_in_1920
Churchill looked into using gas in the Summer of 1944 just prior to the breakout in July of 1944;
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article999.htm
Not so surprisingly the main reason for NOT using gas, was mass bombings of civilians from the air (followed by machine gunning them from the air) became the preferred method of suppressing natives;
http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/war.crimes/World.war.2/Air.Control.htm
Sorry, about hi-jacking this thread, but the term "Nazi developed" gas is just WRONG. The Nazis had nothing to do with its development, except that it was discovered under Nazi Rule (and they indicated some willingness to use it). This is like saying Asperber's syndrome is a Nazi developed disease, for it was first diagnose in Vienna in 1944 under Nazi Rule.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome
Side Note: Gas Warfare was first used in 1915, reached its height of use in 1916, then the use declined as WWI progressed. The reason was simple, Gas is most effective against people without ANY protective gear, with even primitive protective gear (including using a wet handkerchief over one's month). the effectiveness of gas declines rapidly, so that it soon becomes more effective to drop high explosive bombs then to use gas (This appears to be the case in Iraq in 1921, bombing was more effective then gas would have been given that the people would disperse and run away from the gas). In modern warfare, gas has been used against Civilians (Saddam did this in the 1980s, Mussolini did this in Ethiopia in the 1930s) OR to force the other side into protective clothing (this is more in theory then reality, I know of no cases where gas was used for that purpose, but it is the main claim for gas in modern warfare.
