FRANCE PARIS CHARLES SOBHRAJ quotTHE SERPENTquot RETURNS UPDATE

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(8 Apr 1997) French/Nat • • Charles Sobhraj, the man convicted of killing 14 young tourists throughout Asia arrived in Paris on Tuesday. • • After spending 21 years in an Indian jail, Charles Sobhraj, known as The Serpent , has been allowed into France • • Sobhraj who was born to an Indian father and a Vietnamese mother claims French citizenship. • • Although he was immediately taken into custody when he arrived in Paris, he was later released pending an investigation into his sordid past. • • His French lawyer has accused the French government of incompetence over the handling of his case. • • Charles Sobhraj, known as the Serpent, who for decades evaded charges of drugging, robbing and murdering more than a dozen tourists in Asia, was mobbed by the media when he finally appeared in Paris on Tuesday. • • Deported from India after serving 21 years in prison for theft, Charles Sobhraj was put under formal investigation for allegedly trying to poison a group of 20 French tourists in India in July 1976. • • Members of that group placed a complaint upon their return to France. • • But the case can be thrown out if an investigating judge doesn't waive a 10-year statute of limitations on the crime, according to a judicial source. • • Police opened a preliminary investigation into the complaint, and a court in Bobigny, a northern Paris suburb, questioned him Tuesday afternoon. • • He was then released, according to the court source. • • Sobhraj was accompanied by his French lawyer Jacques Verges, known for defending other notorious figures. • • He said his sojourn in France was aimed at landing film and book • deals. • • SOUNDBITE: (French) • I came off the plane, I was arrested by French police. • Q: What will you be doing in France? • A: I will be negotiating for my contracts • SUPER CAPTION: Charles Sobhraj • • Earlier in the day, the media and Verges had waited in vain for Sobhraj to appear at the Charles de Gaulle airport after arriving on an overnight flight from New Delhi. • • Jacques Verges, is known for defending other notorious figures, such as the late Klaus Barbie, the infamous Nazi Gestapo chief and Carlos The Jackal . • • Suspected of murder by Indian and Thai authorities, but never convicted, Sobhraj is believed to have drugged and killed at least 14 young tourists in those two countries in the 1970s. • • The famous criminal has spent more than two decades years in prison on charges of robbery. • • Sobhraj has been an embarrassment for the Indian government ever since he staged a jail break 11 years ago to avoid harsher punishment in Thailand. • • Last February, once his was sentence finished, India had ordered his deportation, but France refused to accept him pending checks on his past. • • France decided only two days ago to grant him a travel permit. • • Sobhraj was born in Vietnam when it was ruled by France. • • He says he is a French national, a claim authorities have been investigating as he has no papers. • • Verges, Sobhraj's lawyer, waited more than a half hour with a mob of reporters at the airport before he found out Sobhraj was detained. • • He accused the French government of incompetence in handling his client's case. • • SOUNDBITE: (French) • SUPER CAPTION: Jacques Verges, Sobhraj's lawyer • • Sobhraj will not have to report to police on a daily basis, but will be questioned further on the allegations. • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

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