Oscar Pistorius is released after 11 years in prison for murdering his girlfriend – 01/05/2024 – Sport

Former South African Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius was released on parole this Friday (5), almost 11 years after murdering his girlfriend in a crime that shocked a nation long accustomed to violence against women.

Pistorius – nicknamed “Blade Runner” for his carbon fiber prosthetic legs – shot and killed 29-year-old model Reeva Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door on Valentine’s Day 2013.

He has repeatedly claimed that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he fired four shots into the bathroom of his Pretoria home, and has launched multiple appeals against his conviction on that basis.

“The Department of Correctional Services can confirm that Oscar Pistorius is a conditional release, effective January 5, 2024. He has been admitted to the Community Corrections system and is now at home,” the country’s prisons department said in a statement. communicated.

Pistorius, now 37, spent around eight and a half years in prison, as well as seven months under house arrest before being convicted of murder. A parole board ruled in November that he could be released after serving more than half of his sentence.

In a statement shared by family lawyer Steenkamp on Friday, Reeva’s mother June said: “There can be no justice if your loved one never returns, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back.”

“We who are left behind are the ones serving a life sentence,” said June Steenkamp, ​​adding that her only wish was to be allowed to live in peace after Pistorius’s release on parole.

A monitoring officer will watch him until the end of his sentence in December 2029, and Pistorius will have to report whether he seeks employment opportunities or changes address.

He is also required to continue anger management therapy and attend sessions on gender-based violence as part of his probation conditions, the Steenkamp family said.

June Steenkamp said the conditions imposed by the parole board confirmed her belief in the South African justice system as they send a clear message that gender-based violence is taken seriously.

A lawyer for Pistorius did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his release on Friday.

Local media expect him to live at his uncle Arnold Pistorius’ house in an affluent Pretoria neighborhood.

South Africans have mixed reactions to his release, with some feeling he has served his sentence, while others see his punishment as too lenient.

“He paid the price. Let him rebuild his life,” a local man told reporters gathered outside his uncle’s house on Friday morning.