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Killer Sobhraj fears life in prison
Published on Wed, Sep 13, 2006 at 18:39 in World section
Tags: Charles Sobhraj, Kathmandu , Kathmandu
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Kathmandu: International criminal Charles Sobhraj, known as 'bikini killer' over a series of murders of young female backpackers in 1970s, has expressed hope that Nepal's highest court will overturn the life sentence awarded to him for killing an American woman in Kathmandu three decades ago.
Sobhraj, a French national, was caught in September 2003 from a Kathmandu casino for carrying a fake passport. He was later found guilty of the 1975 murder of American citizen Connie Joe Brozich but he continues to deny the charge.
The charge is totally false and without any concrete proof, Sobhraj was quoted him as claiming by his lawyers, who are trying hard to get him out of the jail, where he has already spent three years.
Although hearing on Sobhraj's case was slated for Wednesday, Kathmandu Supreme Court registrar Ram Krishna Timilsena said it was behind a dozen other cases and could not be taken up. The Supreme Court is likely to hear his appeal on Thursday.
Sobhraj, who has been linked to a series of murder, rape and drug smuggling cases in 1970s, was sentenced only on the basis of circumstantial evidences in the absence of eyewitnesses and concrete proof, his lawyers claimed.
He was convicted of the murder of the American woman after his signatures matched with the three-decade-old signatures he had put in a hotel's register book.
"We are going to ask the prosecutors to bring the original guest registration cards, as they were unable to produce them at previous trials," said Rajaram Dhakal, one of the defence lawyers.
"We are confident that Sobhraj will be freed because the reliability of the evidence has been questioned by the Supreme Court itself during the admission hearing in July," he said.
In addition, his lawyers have asked that the police inspector, who led the investigation in 1975, be brought to the Supreme Court for questioning.
"There has been no cross-examination of the evidence supplied by Chandra Bahadur Rai (the inspector), and we will demand that Rai be present in court to get his statement," they said.
Sobhraj still believes that the new political changes, which Nepal has gone through 2006, could do a favour for him.
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