South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, jailed for more than seven years for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013, has been released on parole.
South Africa’s Department of Corrections announced his release from the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in the South African capital, Pretoria, at 0830 local time (1030 UAE time) on Friday.
A short statement, without giving many details, from the Department of Corrections said it was “able to confirm that Oscar Pistorius is a parolee, effectively from 5 January 2024. He was admitted into the system of Community Corrections and is now at home”.
Double-amputee Pistorius, now 37 and probably the most famous para athlete in the world when the incident took place, was found guilty of the murder and sentenced to 13 years and five months. The trial lasted seven months and was televised.
In the early hours of February 14, 2013, Pistorius shot Steenkamp multiple times through a toilet door at his home with his 9mm pistol. He has maintained that he shot the 29-year-old Steenkamp by mistake and in self-defence, believing her to be an intruder hiding in his bathroom.
Pistorius will live under strict parole conditions until the remainder of his sentence expires in December 2029. His parole conditions include restrictions on when he’s allowed to leave his home, a ban on consuming alcohol, and orders that he must attend programs on anger management and on violence against women. He will have to perform community service and is banned from speaking to the media until the end of his sentence. Any breach of the conditions is likely to send him back to jail.
The Steenkamp family had opposed Pistorius’ bid for parole, but June Steenkamp, Reeva’s mother, did not oppose the parole bid. In a statement on Friday, she said the family had accepted that Pistorius would be given parole before finishing his sentence.
“Has there been justice for Reeva? Has Oscar served enough time? There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back,” said June Steenkamp. “We who remain behind are the ones serving a life sentence.
“With the release of Oscar Pistorius on parole, my only desire is that I will be allowed to live my last years in peace with my focus remaining on the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation.”
Pistorius was first convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to five years in prison. He was ultimately found guilty of murder in 2015 after appeals by prosecutors, and had his sentence increased. He was first sent to prison in 2014, then released on house arrest in 2015 during the appeal by prosecutors and sent back to prison in 2016.
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