FRANCE PARIS CONVICTED KILLER CHARLES SOBHRAJ ARRIVES

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(8 Apr 1997) French/Nat • • Charles Sobhraj, the man suspected 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. • • But he was immediately taken into custody on his arrival in Paris and his French lawyer has accused the French government of incompetence over the handling of his case. • • It was a long wait for those waiting to see Charles Sobhraj walk out of the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on Tuesday. • • Although Sobhraj is now a free man, he was taken into custody by the French authorities after arriving on an overnight flight from New Delhi. • • Among those waiting were his French lawyer Jacques Verges, 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 21 years in prison on charges of robbery. • • Sobhraj known as The Serpent 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) • For seven weeks, he was refused papers, but at the end of those seven weeks - they gave him papers. This time they are holding him, in the end they will be forced to release him and they are going to lose face for the second time. This is proof that the state is incapable of fulfilling its obligations even in such a trivial matter of a Frenchman who has spent time abroad and is now returning to France - there is not an accepted procedure for such a case. • SUPER CAPTION: Jacques Verges, Sobhraj's lawyer • • At first, police sources said the 52-year-old Sobhraj would be detained for a few hours while his status - both in terms of his nationality and in terms of any records of past crimes - was investigated. • • But the questioning dragged on into the afternoon, with judicial source saying a French national filed a complaint Tuesday that Sobhraj allegedly tried to poison him or her more than 20 years ago. • • Officials said earlier that the statute of limitations had run out on the allegation • • Police opened a preliminary investigation into the complaint, and a court in Bobigny, a northern Paris suburb, questioned him Tuesday afternoon. • • 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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