Former senior Aum Shin Rikyo member sentenced

[February 17, 1999]


Judge Ritsuro Uemura delivered a guilty verdict against Hisako Ishii, 38, who helped lead the cult along with founder Chizuo Matsumoto. The sentence came in the face of a statement from Ishii saying that she had parted with the group and contributed 300,000 yen to a support fund. According to the Daily Yomiuri, Judge Uemura stated that Ishii, "with the deep trust of Matsumoto, played an important role in the group. However, she failed to question his wishes and therefore is responsible for the group's numerous illegal acts."

Ishii sat motionless, bowing once to the judge before returning to the defendant's seat. Ishii was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for her role in assisting Aum Shin Rikyo cult fugitives, incinerating a body, and destroying evidence.

As Aum "finance minister," Ishii played a vital role in leading the cult jointly with founder Chizuo Matsumoto, 43. According to the ruling, in June 1993, Ishii destroyed the body of cult member Naoki Ochi, 25. Ochi died hanging in an inverted position while undergoing "religious training" at an Aum facility in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, whereupon Ishii and other female cult members used a microwave device to incinerate his lifeless body.

In March 1995, following the sarin nerve gas attack the cult perpetrated in the Tokyo subway system, Ishii, with full knowledge of their guilt, offered the three Aum members responsible for the gas attack a total of 35 million yen in cash to assist them in escaping the law.

And finally, in October 1990, Ishii submitted false documents to local prosecutors addressing the group's illegal land purchase in Naminoson, Kumamoto Prefecture.

Source: The Yomiuri Shimbun, The Daily Yomiuri, February 17, 1999