Oscar Pistorius was released from prison in South Africa more than a decade after murdering his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The former Paralympic runner was convicted of murder after shooting Steenkamp multiple times through a locked door on Valentine’s Day.
He has repeatedly said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he fired four shots into the bathroom at his Pretoria home, and he launched multiple appeals against his conviction on that basis.
“The Department of Correctional Services (is) 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,” the country’s prisons department said in a statement.
Pistorius, now 37, has spent about eight and a half years in jail as well as seven months under home arrest before he was sentenced for murder. A parole board in November decided he could be freed after completing more than half his sentence.
Correctional service emergency support team members look on at the entrance of the National head offices of the correctional services, where parolees are processed— (Reuters)
It is believed that he was released during the early hours of this morning from the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre, to avoid media attention given the number of photographers camped outside.
Officials had previously said that his release time would not be announced in advance, and that he would not be “paraded” in front of the media.
In a statement shared by the Steenkamp family lawyer on Friday, Reeva’s mother June said: “There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back.”
“We, who remain behind, are the ones serving a life sentence,” June Steenkamp said, adding her only desire was to be allowed to live in peace after Pistorius‘ release on parole.
After his release, Pistorius will have to attend therapy for anger management and remain under close supervision. He will be unable to leave the area of Waterkloof, where he will be staying with his uncle, for five years.
The compound is said to be fortified with guards and secure technology, which will provide the former athlete with protection from media attention and potential attackers.
He will also not be allowed to consume alcohol and will be banned from conducting media interviews.
South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, right, and Reeva Steenkamp in 2012— (AP)
Pistorius, who was born without fibulas and had both legs amputated below the knees before his first birthday, gained global fame in the early 2000s when he won Paralympic gold in the 200 metres at the Games in Athens.
Once dubbed “the Blade Runner”, went on to win six gold medals over three Paralympic Games and made history in 2012 when he became the first amputee sprinter to compete in the London Olympics.
It is said that his time in prison has made him unrecognisable, with The Times reporting that he has become a “grey and bloated smoker”.
A gun enthusiast, the athlete told the trial he had believed Steenkamp - a promising law graduate - was an intruder in their home when he shot her several times through the bathroom door. It was an account he repeated over the years.
He was initially jailed for five years in 2014 for culpable homicide but the sentence was changed to six years after the Supreme Court of Appeal in late 2015 found him guilty of the more serious charge of murder. His sentence was later increased again to 13 years after prosecutors argued the punishment was too lenient.
Released under South Africa’s restorative justice programme, he will be subject to strict conditions until his sentence expires in 2029 and can be returned to prison if he breaches them.
Reeva Steenkamp was a law graduate and a successful model— (EPA)
In a Twitter statement, the campaign group Women for Change, who advocate for the rights of women and children in South Africa, said: “We believe that granting parole to someone convicted of killing another person sends a concerning message about accountability and justice in our country.
“We maintain that Oscar Pistorius should have served his full sentence for the brutal murder of Reeva.”
At the time of her murder, Steenkamp was a law graduate and a successful model who had also worked as a TV presenter.
The 29-year-old had hoped to start a law firm to help abused women, and had only been in a relationship with Pistorius for three months when she was killed.
