PARIS (AP) — A man suspected of killing at least 20 tourists in Asia in the 1970s arrived in Paris on Saturday as a free man after being released from Nepal where he was serving a life sentence.

Charles Sobhraj, aka “Le Serpent”, arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and told the AP shortly afterwards “I’m fine, I’m happy, let’s go have lunch”.

It’s the most recent twist in a man’s dramatic life portrayed in a BBC and Netflix co-produced series called ‘The Serpent’. In the past, Sobhraj has confessed to murdering Western tourists in Asia.

Sobhraj, a 78-year-old French national, was in prison for the 1975 deaths of American and Canadian backpackers in Nepal, but was released on Friday for his health and other reasons.

His lawyer, Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, told the AP that Sobhraj will seek to have his sentence in Nepal overturned, calling him “optimistic” and resilient after nearly 20 years behind bars.

French filmmaker Jean-Charles Deniau, who accompanied Sobhraj to Paris airport and is about to publish a book and film about his life, said: “He is fine, he has his medication. He will live in Paris, and a little elsewhere.

The French government did not respond to requests for comment on whether Sobhraj will stand trial in France. Sobhraj was born in Vietnam during the French colonial era and claims French nationality.

He is believed to have killed at least 20 people in Afghanistan, India, Thailand, Turkey, Nepal, Iran and Hong Kong between 1972 and 1982.

But despite multiple lawsuits against him, authorities in various countries in the region have struggled to prosecute and keep him behind bars.