Wants to spend 8-10 days in Nepal: Attorney
Kathmandu, December 22
Charles Sobhraj, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in Nepal, will be set free tomorrow. The Supreme Court had ordered the government to release him yesterday because of poor health, good behaviour, and having already served most of his sentence.
Sobhraj, 78, who was supposed to be released from Central Prison today has to stay in jail tonight as the Department of Immigration, where Sobhraj was to be sent for deportation, did not have a separate room ready for him. The court had ordered the government to deport him to the country that issued him passport within 15 days, unless he is wanted in some other case.
Senior Advocate Gopal Siwakoti Chintan, who is Sobhraj's attorney, told THT that Sobhraj would be released from jail tomorrow after 10:00am when the Department of Immigration would open.
Information Officer of Department of Prison Ram Chandra Siwakoti said all formalities to release Sobhraj were completed today. "He will be freed tomorrow unless the government brings new charges against him," Siwakoti added.
He said people assisting Sobhraj spent the day collecting verdict copies from Kathmandu and Bhaktapur district courts.
Sobhraj has been in prison since September 2003 when he was arrested by Nepal Police from Casino Royale a day after The Himalayan Times carried a front-page scoop headlined 'The Serpent living incognito in Thamel'.
Sobhraj is accused of committing crimes in Europe and Asia, including France, Greece, Iran, Turkey, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Thailand, and Malaysia. He was accused of drugging, robbing, and murdering western backpackers, mainly young women, along the socalled 'Hippie Trail' in the 1970s.
His nickname, The Serpent, stems from his reputation as a disguise and escape artiste. It later became the title for a BBC and Netflix series about the serial killer, which was released in 2020.
Sobhraj also served 21 years in Indian jail and was on the run for 22 days when he escaped from Delhi's Tihar Jail in 1986.
A division bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Tilprasad Shrestha ordered his release acting on a habeas corpus petition filed by Sobhraj. He had pleaded that he qualified for remission of his sentence as he was over 70 and was suffering from heart ailment. The court observed that Sobhraj had already served 95 per cent of his 20-year jail sentence and the waiver of sentence applied to foreigners as well.
In 2014, Sobhraj was sentenced to 20 years in jail for the 1975 murder in Kathmandu of Canadian tourist Laurent Carriere.
In 2004, he was sentenced to life term for murdering American tourist Connie Jo Bronzich.
Chintan said Sobhraj wanted to remain in Nepal for 8-10 days to meet his family members and receive treatment for his heart ailment. He might stay in a hotel or at Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre.
Director at Department of Immigration Komal Pandey said DoI would repatriate him to the country that had issued passport to Sobhraj. He said DoI would evaluate all aspects - national security, immigration rules, and Sobhraj's visa documents to take a call on when to deport Sobhraj rather than listening to his family or friends.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 23, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
