A French murderer who admitted to killing several western tourists is due to be set free from prison in Nepal after the country’s supreme court ordered his release. 

Charles Sobhraj, also known by the nickname The Serpent owing to his reputation as a disguise and escape artist, was serving two life sentences in Nepal for the murders of an American tourist and a Canadian backpacker.

Life sentences in Nepal are 20 years. Court documents said he had already served more than 75% of his sentence, making him eligible for release.

The order for his release was also made on the grounds of good behaviour and poor health, as he is suffering from heart disease.

The Frenchman has in the past admitted killing several western tourists and he is believed to have killed at least 20 people in Afghanistan, India, Thailand, Turkey, Nepal, Iran and Hong Kong during the 1970s.

He is thought to have mostly targeted young backpackers on the hippie trail and also became known as the Bikini Killer as the bodies of several female victims were found in swimwear.

His life and crimes were dramatised in hit BBC drama The Serpent, released in 2021.

His 2004 conviction in Nepal was the first time he was found guilty in court.

Sobhraj was held for two decades in New Delhi’s maximum-security Tihar prison on suspicion of theft but was deported without charge to France in 1997.

He resurfaced in September 2003 in Kathmandu where he was arrested.

The supreme court’s ruling on Wednesday also said he had to leave the country within the next 15 days but did not specify to where.

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