Abe murder suspect indicted after psych review

TOKYO, Jan 13 (AFP): Japanese prosecutors indicted the man accused of killing former prime minister Shinzo Abe on Friday, after a lengthy psychiatric review found him fit to stand trial, local media said.

Tetsuya Yamagami was detained immediately after the former Japanese premier was gunned down last July while giving a campaign speech in the western city of Nara.

The 42-year-old spent months undergoing a psychiatric assessment, which ended earlier this week with his transfer to a police station in Nara.

Yamagami faces charges of murder and violation of gun control laws, according to local media outlets including the Yomiuri newspaper and Kyodo News, and he could face the death penalty if convicted.

Nara District Public Prosecutors Office declined to comment on the case when contacted by AFP.

Yamagami has admitted killing Abe, according to local media, and images taken at the scene show him holding and firing an apparently homemade weapon.

He reportedly targeted Abe over the former premier's ties to the Unification Church. Yamagami is believed to have resented the church over large donations his mother made to the sect that bankrupted his family.