Confessed French serial killer Charles "The Serpent" Sobhraj has been freed from prison in Nepal after serving most of his sentence for the murders of American and Canadian backpackers. Sobhraj was driven out of Central Jail in Kathmandu on Friday in a heavily guarded police convoy to the department of immigration, where he will wait for his travel documents to be prepared.
The country's supreme court had ordered that Sobhraj, who was sentenced to life in prison in Nepal, be released because of poor health, good behaviour and having already served most of his sentence. Life sentences in Nepal are 20 years. The order also stipulates that he has to leave the country within 15 days.
Sobhraj's lawyer Gopal Siwakoti Chitan told reporters that the request for the travel documents must be made by the immigration department to the French embassy in Nepal, which could take some time. Offices are closed over the weekend for the Christmas holiday.
