Charles Sobhraj, the famous French serial killer who inspired the award-winning TV show “The Serpent,” was released from a Nepali prison on Friday.
“Sobhraj was released from prison. He has been turned over to the immigration authorities. The immigration officials informed us that he would be deported to France soon, possibly as soon as today “An official at Nepal Central Prison, Ishwari Prasad Pandey, told CNN.
Sobhraj, 78, was serving a life sentence in Nepal for the 1975 murder of two tourists. However, many of the other murders he is suspected of committing remain unsolved.
Nepal’s highest court ordered him to be set free on Wednesday because of his age and health. The court said that he has heart disease and needs open-heart surgery. Local officials said that they were making plans to deport Sobhraj right away. This could happen as soon as Friday.
“We are working on gathering all the necessary travel documents to deport Sobhraj to France,” the acting Director General of the Nepal immigration department Pradarshani Kumari reportedly Told, adding that “it could happen today (Friday), it might take a few days.”
“The court’s order is to send him to his home country within 15 days. We are working to deport him keeping that timeframe in mind. He will remain under the supervision of Nepal’s government until he flies out. We are working with the home ministry on his safety,” Kumari added.
French serial killer Charles Sobhraj has been released from prison in Nepal after serving 19 years behind bars.
We look at who he is and why he’s known as ‘The Serpent’ ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/6kS6dcF31z
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) December 23, 2022
The official said that the department is in close touch with the French embassy in Kathmandu. Sobhraj was born in French-controlled Saigon, Vietnam. He went to jail for the first time in 1963 for burglary in Paris.
After that, he was accused of crimes in France, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Thailand, and Malaysia. He also escaped from prison in more than one country. Because he did this so often, people called him “The Serpent.”
Biographers say that Sobhraj eventually admitted to at least 12 killings between 1972 and 1976 and hinted at more to interviewers. He then took back his confessions before more court cases, though. No one knows how many people he has killed.
What a photo: Charles Sobhraj, notorious 78-year-old French murderer nicknamed ‘The Serpant’ for killing backpackers on Asia’s “hippie trail” in the 1970s, flying home in economy after being released from prison in Nepal https://t.co/2g38OX1sa3 pic.twitter.com/bvuJcGfooi
— Adam Taylor (@mradamtaylor) December 23, 2022
A Nepali court found Sobhraj guilty of killing Canadian tourist Laurent Carrière in 1975 and gave him a 20-year sentence in 2014. “The Serpent,” a BBC/Netflix show coming out in 2021, is based on the alleged murders of Sobhraj.
It tells how, for years, he hid from the law in Asia while he allegedly drugged, robbed, and killed backpackers along the so-called “hippie trail,” while former Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg worked with authorities to catch him.
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FAQs
Why was The Serpent freed?
He was released after Nepal’s top court ordered his release on Wednesday due to his age and health. According to the court, he has a heart condition that needs open-heart surgery.
What did Charles Sobhraj do?
He is quickly recognised and arrested in Kathmandu for the 1975 murders of two tourists, a Canadian backpacker Laurent Armand Carriere and American Connie Joe Bronzich.
Why is Charles Sobhraj called The Serpent?
He was known as the Bikini Killer because of the attire of several of his victims, as well as the Splitting Killer and the Serpent for “his snake-like ability to avoid detection by authorities”.
