FILE PHOTO: French serial killer Charles Sobhraj leaves Kathmandu district court after his hearing in Kathmandu May 31, 2011. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar/File Photo
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KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Charles Sobhraj, a convicted killer who police say is responsible for a string of murders in the 1970s and 1980s, was freed from prison in Nepal on Friday after nearly 20 years behind bars, according to a Reuters witness.
Sobhraj, 78, a French national, is suspected of killing more than 20 Western backpackers on the "hippie trail" through Asia, usually by drugging their food or drink in the course of robbing them.
Nepal's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered his release from prison, where he has served 19 years out of a 20-year sentence, citing his age.
(This story has been refiled to remove extraneous words from the headline)
(Reporting by Gopal Sharma in Kathmandu, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
