Charles ‘The Serpent’ Sobhraj freed from Nepal prison

French serial killer Charles Sobhraj in an aircraft from Kathmandu to France Friday. Pic/AP

Charles Sobhraj, a convicted killer who police say is responsible for a string of murders in the 1970s and 1980s, was released from a Nepal prison on Friday after nearly two decades behind bars. Sobhraj was driven out of Central Jail in Kathmandu by a cavalcade of police cars a little after midday, Ishwari Prasad Pandey, a jailor at the Central Jail, said.

Dubbed the "bikini killer" in Thailand, and "The Serpent", for his evasion of police and use of disguises, the French national, 78, is suspected of killing more than 20 western backpackers on the "hippie trail" through Asia. His notoriety and exploits have been the subject of several dramatizations, including a Netflix and BBC joint production released last year.

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A witness saw Sobhraj, wearing a woollen cap and a blue fleece jacket, being escorted to Nepal's immigration department by a group of at least seven policemen. He is expected to return to France, his lawyer Gopal Shivakoti Chintan said earlier on Friday. Nepal's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered his release from prison, citing his age.

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