South African prison authorities have launched the first procedural steps to consider the parole of Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius, jailed for the murder of his girlfriend, an official and a lawyer said.
The below-the-knee amputee athlete, then at the height of his fame, had killed model Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013 by shooting four times through a toilet door.
He was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the murder, which he has always denied, claiming he was convinced a thief had broken into his ultra-secure Pretoria home.
Since July, the 34-year-old has served half of his sentence, the minimum required to be considered for parole, confirmed Tania Koen, lawyer for the Steenkamp family. This “does not mean that he automatically has the right to be released”, she stressed
The prison services have scheduled preliminary interviews with the parents of Reeva Steenkamp, as required by procedure, which have been postponed to a date yet to be determined. Before any conditional release, they are obliged to dialogue with the victim or her family, but also with the prisoner.
The announcement of this possible parole was a shock for Reeva’s parents, June and Barry Steenkamp.
Earlier Monday, Oscar Pistorius’ father, Henke, told a local television station, eNCA: “Our sympathy and condolences go out to them all the time.”