Former South Africa Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, jailed in 2016 for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, will ask a parole board on Friday to release him early from prison, lawyers and prison officials said.
Pistorius killed Reeva 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, in a killing that shocked the world.
Steenkamp’s family oppose his bid and will give verbal and written statements at the hearing on the impact the murder had on them “June is not looking forward to it, but doing it for Reeva,” Koen said on Thursday, referring to Reeva’s mother June Steenkamp, lawyer Tania Koen said.
“They don’t feel that he should be released. They feel that he has shown no remorse,” she told reporters outside the prison.
Pistorius, 36, is being held at the same facility, where the parole board was scheduled to convene for a closed-door session at 10:00 am.
Pistorius is also expected to address the hearing and respond to the Steenkamps’ submissions, Koen said.
“As you can imagine it’s painful. June has to face Oscar Pistorius again this morning. He is the killer of her daughter,” she said.
Comprising at least three people, including prison services and community members, the board is to determine whether the purpose of imprisonment has been served, according to the Department of Correctional Services.
