Oscar Pistorius to stay behind bars after being denied parole in South Africa

Former Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been denied parole.

A parole board decided he has not served the “minimum detention period” required to be released from prison after his murder conviction for the 2013 killing of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The board said Pistorius will be able to bid for freedom again in August 2024, South Africa’s Department of Corrections said in a statement.

The board cited a new clarification on Pistorius’s sentence issued by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal three days ago, according to the statement.

The result is a surprise but there has been legal wrangling over when Pistorius should be eligible for parole because of the series of appeals in his case.

He was initially convicted of culpable homicide, a charge comparable to manslaughter, in 2014, but the case went through a number of appeals before Pistorius was finally sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison for murder in 2017.

Serious offenders must serve at least half their sentence to be eligible for parole in South Africa.

Pistorius, a multiple Paralympic champion who made history by running against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 Olympics, was convicted of murder for the Valentine’s Day shooting of Ms Steenkamp, 29, at his home.

The 36-year-old claims he shot Ms Steenkamp, a model and reality TV personality, by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.

He said he did not realise she had got out of bed and gone to the bathroom.

But her parents, Barry and June Steenkamp, believe he killed her intentionally after a late-night row.

Double-amputee Pistorius fired four shots with his licensed 9mm pistol through a toilet door at his upscale Pretoria home in the early hours.