The man accused of murdering former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a firearm on July 8, will be subjected to a psychiatric examination to determine his criminal responsibility for the crime, Japanese media reported this Saturday.
(You can read: ‘Moon’, the sect linked to the assassination of the former Japanese prime minister)
The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, was arrested just after shooting Shinzo Abe twice with a gun he made at a pre-Senate election rally in Nara, western Japan.
On Friday, the Nara district court approved a request by prosecutors for Yamagami to undergo a psychiatric examination, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper and other local media reported on Saturday, citing sources close to the investigation.
(Also: Japanese police admit flaws in Abe’s security device)
The interrogation of the suspect will stop during this period, according to the press. In Japan, a suspect can be held in police custody and questioned for up to 23 days without being formally charged.
According to the media, the psychiatric examination will allow prosecutors to determine whether or not the alleged murderer is criminally responsible for his actionsbefore deciding whether to bring charges against him.
(You can read: Shinzo Abe: this was his funeral in Japan after the assassination)
According to police, Yamagami said he shot Abe because he believed the former head of government was linked to the Unification Church, a religious movement of South Korean origin also known as the “Moon sect.”
Yamagami’s mother would have made large donations to that religious movement and her son attributes his family’s financial difficulties to that.
But according to the Unification Church, Abe was “never” one of its members or advisers.
*With information from AFP
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