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Aum Member Held

MOSCOW () -- An official of the Russian branch of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo has been detained by police for violating a ban on the group's activities in Russia, a police official said.


Police investigator Vyacheslav Dolzhenkov said Sunday that Outi Tosiyasu, a senior member of the Moscow branch of the cult, was detained Saturday for ignoring the ban on the cult's activity in Russia.


The cult, which claims 10,000 members in Japan and 30,000 in Russia, is suspected in the deadly gassing of Tokyo subways. Most of the cult's leaders in Japan are in custody for the March 20 gas attack which killed 12 people.

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