South Africa's Oscar Pistorius set for parole

Double-amputee Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius will be released from a South African prison on parole on Friday more than a decade on from shooting his girlfriend Reeve Steenkamp in a killing that jolted the world. The South African Department of Corrections had approved Pistorius' bid for parole on November 24, 2023.

The 37-year-old will not be allowed to leave the area of Pretoria where he is set to live without permission from authorities.

Pistorius shot Steenkamp multiple times through a toilet door at his home on Valentine's Day 2013.

He was ultimately convicted of murder and sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison, and has been incarcerated since late 2014.

Themba Masango, the head of Not In My Name International, an advocacy group against gender-based violence and social injustices, said he hoped Pistorius could be rehabilitated :  "According to South African law, Oscar Pistorius was charged, he went through trial and he was committed into the penitentiary services. And now, like any other prisoner, he is qualified for parole and is receiving parole and is going out on parole. I think that is what we call justice, it's punitive justice, and we also believe in rehabilitative justice."

"He has ticked all the necessary boxes. And we can only wish and hope Oscar Pistorius will come out a better human being and he'll be able to help others, because, you know, when we look at just the punitive measures, we tend to forget that there is a possibility where somebody can be rehabilitated," he added.

Another part of his parole conditions will see him attend a program to deal with anger issues and another program on violence against women.

Pistorius’ sentence will expire on December 5, 2029.