Nepal's SC to review case of Sobhraj

Sobhraj was sentenced in August 2004 to 20 years in prison after being convicted of murdering two female backpackers, one American and one Canadian, in the Himalayan kingdom in 1975.

The sentence was upheld in an appellate court last August.

"Sobhraj's case will be reviewed in the Supreme Court in a couple of days," his lawyer, Ram Bandhu Sharma, told AFP.

"Two justices from the Supreme Court Sunday decided to summon the government attorney to begin a hearing on Charles Sobhraj after a petition submitted by Sobhraj himself," Sharma said.

After being spotted in Nepal's capital, the Frenchman was arrested at an all night casino in 2003.

Under Nepali law, the hearing at the Supreme Court -- the nation's highest legal authority -- is his final chance to appeal the 20-year prison sentence, said his lawyer.

Sobhraj previously served prison in India for murder and is suspected of killing at least two people in Thailand in the 1970s.

He earned the nickname "the serpent" for his ability to escape from prison, and has continued to claim his innocence over the Nepal killings.

"I am confident that Sobhraj will get justice from the Supreme Court as there is no evidence that proves that he is guilty," his lawyer said.