Shinzo Abe murderer fit to stand trial after psych review: Reports
Tetsuya Yamagami
After a lengthy psychiatric assessment, the Japanese authorities have found the man accused of murdering former prime minister Shinzo Abe fit to stand a trial, according to local media reports.
Tetsuya Yamagami, the accused will face trial six months after committing the gruesome killing of Abe in public. He shot at the former PM with a homemade gun from behind during a speech in the city of Nara.
However, despite confessing multiple times that his intention was to kill Abe, the case failed to proceed to the trial stage as psychiatric evaluations to establish the criminal responsibility of the suspects prolonged the formalities.
Read more: Japan bids farewell to ex-PM Shinzo Abe with controversial state funeral
In Japan, such a review is mandatory under the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows psychiatrists to study a suspect to discern whether or not they are mentally stable.
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If Yamagami had been found mentally unstable, his punishment would have been automatically reduced.
According to an AFP report, the psych review of Yamagami focused on his relationship with his mother and home environment, primarily because he had a grudge against the Unification Church.
Yamagami's mother had donated a large sum of money to the religious group and he believed that Abe was connected to the organisation.
WATCH |Gravitas: Shinzo Abe's killer claims cult link behind murder
"He (Yamagami) confessed that he had some resentment against a certain organisation and was under the impression that the former prime minister having some connection to it, which led to the act. I would like to avoid further details," Kazuhisa Yamamura, the head of the first investigation division, Nara prefecture police had said back then.
Notably, Abe was not a member of the church but had addressed an affiliated group as have other powerful world leaders such as former US president Donald Trump.
Since the church's connection was revealed in the killing, the Fumio Kishida government has ordered an investigation that could see the Unification Church lose its tax-exempt status.
Read more: Unification Church in Japan pledges donation reforms after Shinzo Abe’s assassination
(With inputs from agencies)
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