His conditional release request was rejected today (31/3) in Pretoria South African Paralympian Oscar Pistoriuswho was convicted of murdering his girlfriend Riva Steenkampas announced by the lawyer of the victim’s family.
“I don’t know for what reasons the request was rejected. We were only informed that it had been rejected and that it would be reconsidered in a year.”Tanya Cohen told Agence France-Presse.
In the morning, a hearing was held before a special committee and the lawyers of both parties were scheduled to be briefed.
Oscar Pistorius, amputated in both legs, was found guilty of murdering his partner, Reeva Steenkamp, a model and law student, in his bathroom on February 14 – Valentine’s Day – in 2013. The South African, who has already served half of his sentence, he was sentenced on appeal to 13 years and 5 months in prison in November 2017.
He was jailed in 2016, initially for six years, but that sentence was increased to 13 years after an appeal by prosecutors who argued it was too lenient.
The Department of Corrections said in a statement today (31/3) that Pistorius, aged 36, had not completed the minimum period of detention required to be considered for parole.
“In August 2024, he will have reached his minimum term of custody, then the (parole) board will decide”prison spokesman Singabaho Nxumalo said at a media briefing. “It should show up again next year. And then we look at the profile and we’ll make a decision. But for now, we say he has not served the minimum period of detention.”.
Riva’s mother June Steenkamp had earlier said she was nervous as she arrived at Atteridgeville Prison near the capital Pretoria for the closed-door hearing.
“While we welcome today’s decision, today is no cause for celebration,” said lawyer Tanya Cohen on behalf of Riva’s parents. “We miss Riva terribly and will miss her for the rest of our lives. We believe in justice and hope it will continue to prevail”.
Pistorius’ lawyer, Julian Knight, earlier told Reuters that Pistorius was to appear before the parole board to answer questions based on the written application for his release.
Knight had said he did not expect a decision Friday. The basis for his argument for Pistorius’ possible parole was that “there do not appear to be adverse factors preventing his parole because he meets the department’s requirements in terms of their policies and procedures.”
Gun lover
Pistorius rose to fame in 2012 when he became the first double amputee to compete with able-bodied athletes at the Olympics, reaching the semi-finals of the 400 meters in London.
A gun enthusiast, she said at trial that she thought Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her multiple times through the bathroom door with ammunition designed to cause maximum damage to the human body.
Pistorius appeared in court in Pretoria without his prosthetics to show how vulnerable he was, faced with the threat of an attacker.
The athlete broke down in tears as he told the court he was trying to protect Steenkamp when he fired the shots. The prosecutor then accused him of using emotionalism to avoid questioning.
Source: News Beast
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