Charles Sobhraj was on Thursday sentenced to life in prison by a Nepalese court for murdering an American woman in Kathmandu in December 1975.

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Awarding the sentence to Sobhraj, 60, for the murder of Konizo Brohich, Kathmandu District Court Judge Bishwombhar Prasad Shrestha also ordered confiscation of any property owned by him in Nepal.

Sobhraj, a French national, said he was innocent and would appeal in a higher court. He said he had never visited Nepal before 2003.

"I am shocked by the verdict because it was a trial without any witness," he told reporters. "I have been declared guilty without proof."

Sobhraj had never been convicted of murder though he has been accused of over 20 killings in India, Thailand, Nepal, Turkey and Iran.

He had spent 20 years in jail in India for drugging and robbing tourists before he was deported to France in 1997.

Sobhraj, known as "the serpent" for his talent for disguise, resurfaced in Kathmandu in September last year and was arrested at a casino in Durbarmarg.