Oscar Pistorius: the application for parole of the ex-athlete refused

South African Oscar Pistorius in April 2014. [Illustrative image] REUTERS - Siphiwe Sibeko

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The former Paralympic athlete was sentenced by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to thirteen years and five months in prison for the murder, ten years ago, of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. He will be able to make a new application in August 2024.

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Oscar Pistorius will have to stay at least another year and a half in prison. The former South African superstar, convicted in November 2017 for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013, saw his request for parole refused on March 31 near Pretoria. "The reason given is that the detainee has not completed the minimum period of detention" defined by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), said a statement from the Directorate of Correctional Services (DSC).

The one who had written the history of sport by becoming in 2012 the first double amputee athlete to compete at the Olympic Games had been sentenced to thirteen years and five months in prison by the SCA at the end of a real legal soap opera. A soap opera that may not be over, because the DSC specifies that Oscar Pistorius may request a new hearing in August 2024.

As a reminder, in the early hours of Valentine's Day, on February 14, 2013, Pistorius had fired a gun through the bathroom door of his room. Reeva Steenkamp, 29, who had come to spend the night at his home in Pretoria, was shot four times. In 2014, after a first trial, the man nicknamed "Blade runner" – because of his prosthetic legs – was sentenced to five years in prison for "manslaughter".

Oscar Pistorius remains in prison. The former athlete has not served his minimum prison sentence. He was sentenced to 13 years and 5 months in prison in 2017. He may request a new hearing in August 2024. This year marks 10 years since the murder of Reeva Steekamp pic.twitter.com/XvmAvIiQ21

— Romain Chanson (@CHANSONRomain) March 31, 2023

(

With AFP)

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  • South Africa
  • Justice
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