Charles Sobhraj, also known as “The Serpent”, became a free man last week.
Sobhraj was accused of killing nearly two dozen tourists in Asia in the 1970s. A recent photo of a woman sitting next to Sobhraj on a plane bound for France, where he will begin his new life, is has since gone viral.
Journalist Jairaj Singh shared the photo on Twitter with the caption, “That awkward moment when you realize you’re sitting next to a serial killer who has claimed at least 30 lives.” As of Wednesday evening, the tweet had been viewed more than 660,000 times.
His French lawyer, Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, told the AP that Sobhraj will challenge his conviction in Nepal, describing him as “optimistic” and resilient after nearly 20 years behind bars.
French filmmaker Jean-Charles Deniau, who escorted Sobhraj out of Paris airport and is releasing a film and a book about his life, said: “He is fine. He has medicine. He will live in Paris, and everywhere.
The French government did not respond to requests for comment on whether Sobhraj could face legal challenges in France. Sobhraj was born in Vietnam under French rule and claims French nationality.
Sobhraj allegedly killed at least 20 people in Afghanistan, India, Thailand, Turkey, Nepal, Iran and Hong Kong between 1972 and 1982. He befriended his victims, gave them advice on places to dine and sometimes let them stay at the apartment in Bangkok he shared with his girlfriend before he killed them.
But despite multiple lawsuits against him, judicial authorities across the region have struggled to convict him of the murders – or keep him behind bars.
He was arrested in New Delhi in 1976 and charged with murdering two tourists and stealing their jewellery. He was convicted of theft but acquitted of murder. In Thailand, he faced 14 murder charges. He avoided extradition by remaining in Indian courts until the Thai case expired in 1996. In Thailand, he was sentenced to death.
In 1986, he escaped from New Delhi’s maximum-security Tihar prison after tricking guards into sharing a drug-laden birthday cake, but was later recaptured.
In 1997 he was deported from India to France, where he lived freely but was investigated for allegedly trying to poison a group of French tourists in India.
He resurfaced in 2003 in a casino in the Nepalese city of Kathmandu and was questioned about the unsolved murders of an American backpacker and a Canadian backpacker whose charred bodies were found on the outskirts of town. He was convicted the following year and sentenced to life imprisonment – which in Nepal is just 20 years.
Sobhraj has insisted on his innocence in the matter, although he has in the past spoken of killing other tourists. When he was released from Indian prison, he said he regretted some aspects of his past.
Announcing his release this week, Nepal’s Supreme Court said Sobhraj suffered from heart disease. They also said he had already served more than 75% of his sentence and had done well in prison, which made him eligible for release.
He was free on Friday and ordered to leave Nepal within 15 days. A friend helped him finance a ticket to France and the French Embassy prepared travel documents allowing him to leave, lawyer Gopal Siwakoti Chitan said.
Coutant-Peyre, his French lawyer, welcomed his release.
“I am very happy but very shocked that it took 19 years to get his normal freedom,” Coutant-Peyre said at the airport. She also said his murder conviction in Nepal was based on a “fabricated case” and said the French government had not done enough to help or defend him.
Coutant-Peyre also said Sobhraj watched “The Serpent” series, which chronicles how Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg launched an international investigation into Sobhraj’s alleged murders. He called it “garbage,” she said, and told her that “70% of all of this is totally wrong.”
Sobhraj’s nickname “snake” derives from his reputation as an artist of disguise and escape. He was also known as “the bikini killer” as he often targeted young women.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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