Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 228
law one against another, nor to press charges or testify against another.‖ (Tom Blackwell,
National Post, Internet, 2/11/03)
Aum Shinrikyo
Kazakhs Arrest Local Leader
Local Aum leader Vladimir Kamenev has been sentenced and put on probation for trying to
spread Aum‘s ideas in a hospital where he was taken after refusing treatment for
tuberculosis. Kamenev received his Aum ―indoctrination‖ in Moscow in 1996, then returned
to Kazakhstan where he began a yoga group, but really preached Aumism, according to
authorities. (AP, Internet, 2/12/03)
Victims to Speak in Court
Families of those who died as a result of crimes attributed to Aum Shinrikyo —including
the gas attack on the Tokyo subway— will be able to tell the court at guru Shoko
Asahara’s trial about their suffering, thanks to a change in the criminal procedure code.
The court cannot use such evidence to judge the facts of the case, but it can use it to help
decide the punishment. (Kyodo, Japan Today, Internet, 2/5/03)
Branch Davidians
New Trial Push Stalled
U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Edith Jones was not moved by the Branch Davidian
argument for a new trial in the wrongful death case against the government stemming from
the 1993 raid on their Waco compound. The group‘s lawyers say that the judge who
previously dismissed their case was biased, but in response to claims that the lower-court
judge demonstrated antagonism toward the group, Judge Smith said: ―Is that what you are
hanging your hat on, three statements over the course of a trial?‖ Former U.S. Attorney
General Ramsey Clark, in support of the Davidian appeal, said that Judge Smith‘s ―hostility
toward these people, which you could almost feel, showed that the possibility of a fair trial
was not possible [sic]. (Adam Nossiter, AP, Internet, 2/10/03)
Awaiting Koresh Resurrection
On the tenth anniversary of the disaster, a handful of followers living at the site of the
demolished Branch Davidian compound, near Waco, TX, are waiting for the resurrection of
leader David Koresh and the final apocalypse. Catherine Matteson, 87, says: ―When David
comes back, that‘s when we‘ll evangelize.‖
Knowledgeable observers who were asked to comment on the clash between the Davidians
and the government in 1993 emphasize, as they have over the last decade, either the
government‘s overreaction to the Davidian threat, or David Koresh‘s corrupt practices.
(Terri Jo Ryan, Waco Tribune-Herald, Internet, 3/2/03, Jason Embry, Waco Tribune-Herald,
Internet, 3/2/03)
Church/State Relations
Faith-Based Initiative Checked
The Senate has blocked efforts to open government programs to religious organizations—
part of President Bush‘s faith-based initiative—although it voted to grant new tax breaks for
charitable donations to such groups. (Laura Meckler, AP, Internet, 4/10/03)
law one against another, nor to press charges or testify against another.‖ (Tom Blackwell,
National Post, Internet, 2/11/03)
Aum Shinrikyo
Kazakhs Arrest Local Leader
Local Aum leader Vladimir Kamenev has been sentenced and put on probation for trying to
spread Aum‘s ideas in a hospital where he was taken after refusing treatment for
tuberculosis. Kamenev received his Aum ―indoctrination‖ in Moscow in 1996, then returned
to Kazakhstan where he began a yoga group, but really preached Aumism, according to
authorities. (AP, Internet, 2/12/03)
Victims to Speak in Court
Families of those who died as a result of crimes attributed to Aum Shinrikyo —including
the gas attack on the Tokyo subway— will be able to tell the court at guru Shoko
Asahara’s trial about their suffering, thanks to a change in the criminal procedure code.
The court cannot use such evidence to judge the facts of the case, but it can use it to help
decide the punishment. (Kyodo, Japan Today, Internet, 2/5/03)
Branch Davidians
New Trial Push Stalled
U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Edith Jones was not moved by the Branch Davidian
argument for a new trial in the wrongful death case against the government stemming from
the 1993 raid on their Waco compound. The group‘s lawyers say that the judge who
previously dismissed their case was biased, but in response to claims that the lower-court
judge demonstrated antagonism toward the group, Judge Smith said: ―Is that what you are
hanging your hat on, three statements over the course of a trial?‖ Former U.S. Attorney
General Ramsey Clark, in support of the Davidian appeal, said that Judge Smith‘s ―hostility
toward these people, which you could almost feel, showed that the possibility of a fair trial
was not possible [sic]. (Adam Nossiter, AP, Internet, 2/10/03)
Awaiting Koresh Resurrection
On the tenth anniversary of the disaster, a handful of followers living at the site of the
demolished Branch Davidian compound, near Waco, TX, are waiting for the resurrection of
leader David Koresh and the final apocalypse. Catherine Matteson, 87, says: ―When David
comes back, that‘s when we‘ll evangelize.‖
Knowledgeable observers who were asked to comment on the clash between the Davidians
and the government in 1993 emphasize, as they have over the last decade, either the
government‘s overreaction to the Davidian threat, or David Koresh‘s corrupt practices.
(Terri Jo Ryan, Waco Tribune-Herald, Internet, 3/2/03, Jason Embry, Waco Tribune-Herald,
Internet, 3/2/03)
Church/State Relations
Faith-Based Initiative Checked
The Senate has blocked efforts to open government programs to religious organizations—
part of President Bush‘s faith-based initiative—although it voted to grant new tax breaks for
charitable donations to such groups. (Laura Meckler, AP, Internet, 4/10/03)
