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Law and JusticeSouth Africa

South Africa's Oscar Pistorius denied parole

March 31, 2023

Authorities found Oscar Pistorius had not served enough time for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp to qualify for release. Her parents also opposed his parole application.

https://p.dw.com/p/4PYVs
South Africa paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius in court during his trial for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
Pistorius has been behind bars for almost seven yearsImage: Alon Skuy/AP/picture alliance

A parole board in South Africa has denied parole to Oscar Pistorius, the former Paralympic champion jailed for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius applied to be released early after serving half of his 13-year jail sentence for murdering Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013.

The department of correctional services said he was denied parole because he hasn't served a 'minimum detention period.' The matter would only be considered again in August next year.

Reeva Steenkamp's mother June arrive at a parole hearing for Oscar Pistorius
Steenkamp's mother, June, told the parole board she and here husband do not believe Pistorius told the truth about what happened Image: Themba Hadebe/AP/Pictiure alliince

At a hearing on Friday at the Atteridgeville prison near the capital Pretoria, Steenkamp's mother asked the parole board not to release her daughter's murderer.

Ahead of the hearing, she told reporters he was "not remorseful or rehabilitated."

"I've just received a call from the parole board ...It is a huge sense of relief for June," Steenkamp's lawyer Tania Koen said.

Pistorius met with Steenkamp's parents

Pistorius met Steenkamp's parents last year as part of a process that authorities say aims to ensure inmates "acknowledge the harm they have caused to their victims and the society at large."

He was jailed in 2016 for a six-year term, but that sentence increased to 13 years after an appeal by prosecutors who argued the initial sentence was too lenient.

A file picture fron 2012 of Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius together
Pistorius told his trial he had believed Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her several times through the bathroomImage: Lucky Nxumalo/AFP

During his highly publicized trial, the man dubbed the "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fiber prosthetic legs, denied killing Steenkamp in a rage, saying he mistook her for a burglar.

He shot her several times through a locked bathroom door in his Pretoria home.

A year before killing Steenkamp, Pistorius became the first double amputee to race in the Olympics, competing at the 2012 London Games. He also won several gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Paralympics in Athens and Beijing.

He became a household name worldwide and was courted by sponsors, but it all came crashing down after the killing.

lo/jcg (AP, AFP, Reuters)