1. A number of former high-ranking cult members have given statements indicating that Asahara himself masterminded the crimes and ordered their execution. 2. Leaving such groups often means having to rebuild lives and deal with guilt, fear, and regret, say former cult members. 3. Members of the Restoration of the Ten Commandments went house to house to visit former cult members, urging them to return before it was too late. 4. Ron Burks, a longtime counselor at the Wellspring residential treatment facility for former cult members in Ohio, also considers al-Qaida a cult. 5. The Chynoweth brothers and Marston were former cult members, officials said. 6. Therapists who work with former cult members say it can take up to four years to overcome the effects of being in an abusive group. 7. A total of six cult members, including Okazaki and former cult leader Shoko Asahara, were charged with the murders. 8. An official of the Tokyo District Court declined to discuss details of the trial of former cult member Eriko Iida. 9. Former cult members have said the group made gun parts using sophisticated lathes and other machines at a factory-like facility. 10. Former cult guru Shoko Asahara is on trial for masterminding the assault. |