AUM SHINRIKYO CULT SPOKESMAN ARAKI SPEAKS TO REPORTERS AT TOKYO NEWS CONFERENCE, 1999-08-27 (photo)

Doomsday cult Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth Sect) spokesman Hiroshi Araki shows a chart to reporters at Tokyo District Court August 27. The cult accused of staging the nerve gas attack on Tokyo subways in 1995 denied media charges it was involved in the abduction this week of the sister of another gas attack victim in Matsumoto in 1994. The 19-year-old woman was abducted near her house August 24 and threatened to drop a lawsuit against the cult before being released unharmed 12 hours later, police said. The woman's family had launched a civil lawsuit against the Aum demanding compensation for her brother's death and Japanese media reports had linked the abduction to the cult. TA/CC