Former South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius, who is eligible for parole from Friday, will be released from prison with a ban on speaking in the media nearly 11 years after the murder of his partner Reeva Steenkamp, prison authorities confirmed on Wednesday.
• Also read: South Africa: Oscar Pistorius is conditionally released
“Just like other people on probation, Pistorius is not allowed to give interviews to the media,” the government said in a statement. “The fact that Pistorius is known to the general public does not distinguish him from other detainees and does not justify special treatment.”
Oscar Pistorius, 37, was released early at the end of November. The South African justice system provides that a convict can benefit from probation after half of his sentence has expired.
The former athlete is due to be released from a prison on the outskirts of the capital Pretoria on Friday. For “security reasons,” authorities did not disclose the timing or logistical details.
The prison administration warned that journalists present in front of the prison would not be given the opportunity to “take photos or pictures of Pistorius.”
The six-time Paralympic champion amputee at the 2012 London Olympics, who became a sports legend at the 2012 London Olympics by competing alongside able-bodied athletes, was sentenced to 13 years in his appeal in 2017 Sentenced to seclusion for five months.
On the night of February 13-14, 2013, he shot and killed 29-year-old model Reeva Steenkamp by firing four times through a door of her ultra-secure home in Pretoria.
“Blade Runner,” as he is called in reference to his carbon prosthetics, has always claimed to have believed in the presence of an intruder. The affair shocked the world.
When his early release was announced, the victim's mother, June Steenkamp, said she still did not believe “Oscar's version” and was convinced that he had “not rehabilitated” himself in prison.
As part of his suspended sentence until the end of his prison sentence in 2029, Oscar Pistorius must undergo therapy for anger management and violence against women.