'The Serpent' serial killer who killed up to 24 victims will be freed from prison

The Supreme Court of Nepal has ruled that notorious serial killer Charles Sobhraj will be released from prison, due to his medical condition, despite being linked to no less than two dozen murders across Asia

French serial killer Charles Sobhraj will be freed after spending 19 years in prison (

Image: AFP via Getty Images

Serial killer Charles Sobhraj will be released from prison after spending more than 19 years in a hellish Nepalese prison.

Master manipulator Sobhraj - whose reign of terror was the subject of the hit BBC drama The Serpent - murdered up to 24 young travelers on the so-called Hippy Trail in the 1970s.

But on Wednesday, December 21, Nepal's Supreme Court ruled that 78-year-old Sobhraj should be released on health grounds.

Having heard a writ of habeas corpus, the joint panel of judges Sapna Malla Pradhan and Til Prasad Shrestha ordered his release from Kathmandu Central Jail.

The court also ordered the authorities to deport him within 15 days.

Sobhraj hopes "he will earn a lot of money by telling his story" (

Picture:

AFP via Getty Images)