South African athlete’s parole request denied

Oscar Pistorius, the first disabled athlete in history to compete in the Olympics, was denied his request for parole after deliberation by the South African commission, the lawyer for the victims’ family said on Friday March 31 . “I don’t know on what grounds the request was refused. We were only informed that it had been refused and that it would be reconsidered in a year”Tania Koen told AFP.

Jailed for killing his girlfriend on February 14, 2013, the South African athlete is currently serving a 13-year sentence. South African law provides that a convict may, once half of his sentence has been served, benefit from accommodation. The Paralympic medalist has been eligible since July 2021 and the lengthy process began over a year ago.