South Africa’s ex-Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius will face a ban on talking to the media when he is released on parole later this week, almost 11 years after he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, prison authorities said Wednesday.
A parole board reviewing whether Pistorius, 37, was fit for social reintegration decided at the end of November to allow him out of prison early on January 5.
“Just like other parolees, Pistorius is restricted from conducting media interviews,” the Department of Correctional Services said in a statement.
“An elevated public profile linked to Pistorius does not make him different from other inmates nor warrant inconsistent treatment,” it added.
The former athlete is due to be released on Friday from a prison on the outskirts of Pretoria. The time and other logistical details have not been disclosed by authorities for “security” reasons.
As part of his parole, until the end of his sentence in 2029 Pistorius must undergo therapy for anger and gender-based violence issues.
Pistorius killed Steenkamp, a model, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013, firing four times through the bathroom door of his ultra-secure Pretoria house.
Known worldwide as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fibre prosthetics, he was found guilty of murder and given a 13-year jail sentence in 2017 after a lengthy trial and several appeals.
He had pleaded not guilty and denied killing Steenkamp in a rage, saying he mistook her for a burglar.
Steenkamp’s mother has previously said she did not believe the ex-athlete was rehabilitated and said she did not think he had told the truth about what happened.
AFP
