Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006, Page 74
News Summaries
Apostolic Faith Church Body of Jesus Christ of the Newborn Assembly
A Portsmouth, OH, judge has granted child custody to David Butts after hearing evidence
that the children‘s mother was turned against him by Rev. Charles Keyes, Sr., head of the
Apostolic Faith Church Body of Jesus Christ of the Newborn Assembly, in Jefferson.
Social workers say church members abuse women and children and practice mind control.
Aryan Brotherhood
Members of the violent white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood, which has infiltrated nearly
every federal and state prison, face a series of trials that prosecutors hope will dismantle
the highly organized racketeering enterprise allegedly responsible for many prison murders.
Aum Shinrikyo (Aleph)
Aum Shinrikyo (renamed Aleph) leader Fumihiro Joyu has earned some 10 million yen
from holiday season seminars in Shiba and Osaka, while the head of a rival Aum faction,
Tatsuko Muraoka, collected about 30 million yen from 260 followers at various locations. ..
Authorities report that Aum still keeps video masters of guru Shoko Asahara justifying his
orders for members to commit murder, clearly demonstrating, they say, that followers are
still loyal to him. ..The Public Security Examination Commission has decided to extend for
three years its surveillance of Aum. The agency says Aum is earning a great deal from its
illegal profit-making businesses. ..Former Aum official Takashi Inoue had been sentenced
to 30 months in prison and fined two million yen for the unlicensed sale of skin ointment in
2003 and 2004.
Lawyers for Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko Asahara have challenged the credibility of a
court-appointed psychiatrist who says that Asahara is mentally fit to stand trial in his appeal
and that he is only pretending to be senile. A team of psychiatrists supporting the defense
position says Asahara is suffering from pseudologia phantastica: he tells extravagant and
fantastic lies about himself. ..Aum member Tomomasa Nakagawa, sentenced to death for
his role in the group‘s gas attack and other crimes, has begun an appeal of his sentence. He
says he was not aware that Aum planned to release the poison gas which he prepared.
The Tokyo High Court has upheld the death penalty sentence for Tomomitsu Niimi, Aum
Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara‟s chief lieutenant, convicted in the Aum 1994 and 1995
gas attacks and other crimes. The court dismissed the argument that the once gentle and
intelligent college student was duped by Asahara into thinking the crimes expressed divine
will. Nimi said he was sorry to have caused ―so much grief, but please understand that
some may hold other values.‖ The father of a former Aum member whom Niimi tried to kill
said, ―Deep down,‖ Niimi ―is horrified at what he did. But he can‘t admit that, not even to
himself. It would mean a denial of all that he‘s done for Aum.‖. ..The High Court as well
rejected Shoko Asahara‘s own death sentence appeal, saying his lawyers failed to present
their case on time. They argued originally that he was mentally and physically unfit to stand
trial and now refused to submit appropriate appeal documents on the ground that making a
mentally incompetent defendant stand trial was against lawyers‘ ethics. ...Asahara‘s
daughters, who were children when the crimes were committed, have been ostracized by
Japanese society. They say their father is mentally ill and that he should not be executed.
Their mother, found guilty of conspiring with him to kill another member, was released from
jail in 2002. In February, a junior high school refused to admit Asahara‘s youngest son
because it could not guarantee the safety of the 11-year-old, saying also that he could
conceivably be under the influence of the cult. ..Following police raids in April on 11 Aum
facilities across Japan aimed to uncover possible plots related to the court proceedings
against Asahara (also known as Chuzio Matsumoto), the Minister of Justice said the
News Summaries
Apostolic Faith Church Body of Jesus Christ of the Newborn Assembly
A Portsmouth, OH, judge has granted child custody to David Butts after hearing evidence
that the children‘s mother was turned against him by Rev. Charles Keyes, Sr., head of the
Apostolic Faith Church Body of Jesus Christ of the Newborn Assembly, in Jefferson.
Social workers say church members abuse women and children and practice mind control.
Aryan Brotherhood
Members of the violent white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood, which has infiltrated nearly
every federal and state prison, face a series of trials that prosecutors hope will dismantle
the highly organized racketeering enterprise allegedly responsible for many prison murders.
Aum Shinrikyo (Aleph)
Aum Shinrikyo (renamed Aleph) leader Fumihiro Joyu has earned some 10 million yen
from holiday season seminars in Shiba and Osaka, while the head of a rival Aum faction,
Tatsuko Muraoka, collected about 30 million yen from 260 followers at various locations. ..
Authorities report that Aum still keeps video masters of guru Shoko Asahara justifying his
orders for members to commit murder, clearly demonstrating, they say, that followers are
still loyal to him. ..The Public Security Examination Commission has decided to extend for
three years its surveillance of Aum. The agency says Aum is earning a great deal from its
illegal profit-making businesses. ..Former Aum official Takashi Inoue had been sentenced
to 30 months in prison and fined two million yen for the unlicensed sale of skin ointment in
2003 and 2004.
Lawyers for Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko Asahara have challenged the credibility of a
court-appointed psychiatrist who says that Asahara is mentally fit to stand trial in his appeal
and that he is only pretending to be senile. A team of psychiatrists supporting the defense
position says Asahara is suffering from pseudologia phantastica: he tells extravagant and
fantastic lies about himself. ..Aum member Tomomasa Nakagawa, sentenced to death for
his role in the group‘s gas attack and other crimes, has begun an appeal of his sentence. He
says he was not aware that Aum planned to release the poison gas which he prepared.
The Tokyo High Court has upheld the death penalty sentence for Tomomitsu Niimi, Aum
Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara‟s chief lieutenant, convicted in the Aum 1994 and 1995
gas attacks and other crimes. The court dismissed the argument that the once gentle and
intelligent college student was duped by Asahara into thinking the crimes expressed divine
will. Nimi said he was sorry to have caused ―so much grief, but please understand that
some may hold other values.‖ The father of a former Aum member whom Niimi tried to kill
said, ―Deep down,‖ Niimi ―is horrified at what he did. But he can‘t admit that, not even to
himself. It would mean a denial of all that he‘s done for Aum.‖. ..The High Court as well
rejected Shoko Asahara‘s own death sentence appeal, saying his lawyers failed to present
their case on time. They argued originally that he was mentally and physically unfit to stand
trial and now refused to submit appropriate appeal documents on the ground that making a
mentally incompetent defendant stand trial was against lawyers‘ ethics. ...Asahara‘s
daughters, who were children when the crimes were committed, have been ostracized by
Japanese society. They say their father is mentally ill and that he should not be executed.
Their mother, found guilty of conspiring with him to kill another member, was released from
jail in 2002. In February, a junior high school refused to admit Asahara‘s youngest son
because it could not guarantee the safety of the 11-year-old, saying also that he could
conceivably be under the influence of the cult. ..Following police raids in April on 11 Aum
facilities across Japan aimed to uncover possible plots related to the court proceedings
against Asahara (also known as Chuzio Matsumoto), the Minister of Justice said the
