Oscar Pistorius, South Africa's 'blade runner' who killed his girlfriend in 2013, released on parole

South Africa's former paralympicrunnerOscarPistorius was on Friday (Jan 5) released from prison on parole,almost 11 years after he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door on Feb 13, 2013.

Pistorius,known as the 'Blade Runner', became eligible for parole in March 2023 after serving half of his 13 years and five months sentence for killing Steenkamp. It is to be noted that hewill not be allowed to speak to the media on account ofthe parole condition.

What happens to Oscar Pistorius on release from prison?

In Nov 2023, South Africa's Department of Correctional Services (DCS) made it clearthat the tainted paralympian will complete the remainder of his sentence in the African nation's community corrections system. Thus, Pistoriuswillbe underDCS'supervision. Hewill be subjected to parole conditions until his sentenceends five years later, in December 2029.

Notably, he will also be assigned a monitoring official. The official willbe notified in advance regarding whenPistorius is seeking job opportunities or moving homes.

As part of the conditions of the parole,the 37-year-oldPistorius willalsoattend various programmes focusing on gender-based violence. In addition, his therapy sessionson anger managementwill continue, as claimed by a lawyer for the Steenkamp family.

Before turning into a criminal, and shocking the entire sporting fraternity, Pistorius achieved some notable feats in his career.

He was a Paralympic gold medalist in 200m, claimed three more gold medals in 2008 Beijing Games and was the first double amputee to compete at 2012 London Games.

However, his life turned upside down after killing his girlfriend in early 2013.

(With inputs from agencies)