Oscar Pistorius to be freed on parole

Former Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius is to be freed from jail on parole, 10 years after murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

He shot Steenkamp multiple times through a bathroom door on Valentine’s Day in 2013, later claiming he mistook her for a burglar.

Pistorius, now 37, was sentenced in 2016 to serve 13 years in prison.

The parole board has set his release for 5 January 2024.

Steenkamp’s mother did not oppose bail but – in a letter sent to the parole board – said she wondered whether Pistorius’s “huge anger issues” were truly dealt with in prison, adding she would potentially be “concerned for the safety of any woman” who now comes into contact with him.

June Steenkamp chose not to attend the parole hearing on Friday at Atteridgeville prison, near Pretoria. Her husband and Reeva’s father, Barry, died earlier this year and she said the strain on them both had been immense.