Charles Sobhraj, a Frenchman who admitted to killing American and Canadian tourists in a series of murders, was let out of a Nepali prison on Friday after having served most of his sentence.
Sobhraj was taken from Kathmandu’s Central Jail to the Department of Immigration, where he will wait for his travel documents to be made, in a police convoy that was closely watched.
Sobhraj, who was given a life sentence in jail in Nepal, was ordered to be released by the country’s Supreme Court due to his bad health, good behavior, and having already completed most of his sentence. In Nepal, life terms are 20 years.
He has 15 days to leave the country, according to the injunction.
Gopal Siwakoti Chitan, Sobhraj’s lawyer, told reporters that the French embassy in Nepal must receive a request for the travel documents from the immigration department, which could take some time. Over the weekend for the Christmas holiday, offices are closed.
According to the court paperwork, he has a heart condition and has already served more than 75% of his sentence, making him eligible for release.
In the 1970s, the Frenchman is thought to have killed at least 20 people in Afghanistan, India, Thailand, Turkey, Nepal, Iran, and Hong Kong. He has already acknowledged killing numerous Western visitors. The first time he was found guilty in court, though, was in Nepal in 2004.
Sobhraj was detained for 20 years in the high-security Tihar prison in New Delhi on accusations of stealing before being extradited to France in 1997. In Kathmandu, he reappeared in September 2003.
His reputation as a master of disguise and escape is the source of his moniker, “The Serpent.”
