The parole board has denied the application of Oscar Pistorius, a former South African Paralympic athlete who shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. Authorities found that he had not served the ‘minimum detention period’ required for release.
Also read: Reeva Steenkamp’s mother will oppose Pistorius’ parole bid today
Pistorius sought parole after nearly a decade of serving his 13-year sentence, which began in 2017.
The Pretoria High Court convicted and imprisoned the renowned Paralympian for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013 at his Pretoria East home.
June Steenkamp, Reeva Steenkamp’s mother, attended the hearing at the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria on Friday morning.
According to SABC News, Tania Koen, the Steenkamp family’s lawyer, addressed the media outside the centre about the family’s attendance, most notably Reeva’s mother, at the hearing.
‘It was very unpleasant for her—the circumstances. But she knows that she had to do it for Reeva, and she did it, and I am very proud of her, and she is very relieved that it’s over. Obviously, this is how she felt and what her feelings are. And as I have said before, she doesn’t feel that he’s rehabilitated and hasn’t told the truth, and for that, both her and Barry submit that he must not be released on parole,’ Koen explained.
As reported by News24, the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board would consider Pistorius’s release on parole again in August 2024, according to a statement released by the correctional services department.
It said that the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ‘clarification’ about Pistorius’ murder sentence on 28 March played a role in this decision.
Also read:
Convicted killer Oscar Pistorius takes parole authorities to court
Picture: Supplied