Killer dubbed ‘The Serpent’ arrives in France from Nepal

PARIS (AP) — Convicted killer Charles Sobhraj, suspected in the deaths of at least 20 tourists around Asia in the 1970s, arrived in Paris as a free man Saturday after being released from a life sentence in a Nepal prison.

It was the latest twist in a dramatic life trajectory depicted in a series co-produced by the BBC and Netflix called “The Serpent,” which aired last year. He has in the past admitted to killing Western tourists around Asia.

“I’m fine, I’m glad” to be in France, he told The Associated Press in a brief phone conversation after arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. “We are going to have lunch.”

Sobhraj, a 78-year-old French citizen, had been serving time for the deaths of American and Canadian backpackers in Nepal in 1975, but was released Friday for health and other reasons.

His French lawyer, Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, told The AP that Sobhraj will contest his conviction in Nepal, describing him as an “optimist” and resilient after nearly 20 years behind bars.