(Johannesburg) South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius, in prison for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend, has met with her parents as part of his parole application process, the prison services said on Friday. .
Posted at 12:48 p.m.
Sentenced to 13 years in prison, the former athlete with an amputee below both knees served more than half of his sentence in July, which makes him eligible for early release. The procedure in South Africa requires the convict to interview the victim or his family.
“The victim-criminal interview process is complete,” the prison services said in a statement.
Oscar Pistorius, then at the height of his fame, was found guilty in 2015 of killing model Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day, by shooting four times through the bathroom door of his ultra-secure Pretoria home .
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Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius
A year earlier, he had become a world star when he lined up with the able-bodied athletes in the 400 meters at the London Olympics.
Nicknamed ‘Blade Runner’, Mr Pistorius, now 35, has always denied the murder, saying he was convinced a thief had broken into his house.
The announcement of a possible parole had been a shock for the parents of the victim, June and Barry Steenkamp, according to their lawyer.
Mr. Pistorius is back in a prison on the outskirts of Pretoria, the prison services said. He had been transferred in November to a remand center in Gqeberha (South), the region where the Steenkamps live.