Oscar Pistorius to be freed by the end of August

The troubled South African is serving a five-year prison sentence after being convicted in October following a seven-month trial.

Reeva Steenkamp died almost instantly on Valentine’s Day in 2013 when Pistorius shot her four times through a locked toilet door at his home in a gated complex in Pretoria. The athlete claims to have mistaken his girlfriend for an intruder.

The release of Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated when he was a baby, was largely expected because he was sentenced under South African law to serve a short period of time in jail, or just one-sixth of the sentence.

Read more on the background to the Oscar Pistorius trial

A statement released by the Steenkamp family says they have “forgiven” him and do not seek revenge, but if he is released his sentence will not serve as a deterrent.

“Incarceration of 10 months for taking a life is simply not enough,” said Reeva’s parents June and Barry Steenkamp.

The Pistorius trial, which garnered global attention, concluded last September. Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled that Pistorius was not guilty of murder, but guilty of the culpable homicide of Ms Steenkamp and reckless endangerment with a firearm at a restaurant.

Watch: the Oscar PIstorius trial in 90 seconds

‘Incarceration of 10 months for taking a life is simply not enough’ June and Barry Steenkamp

The verdict was highly controversial. Prosecutors had pushed for a murder conviction, but the athlete maintained he fired in the mistaken belief an intruder was hiding behind the door, a defence that struck home in a country with one of the world’s highest rates of violent crimes.

Frequently breaking down in court, the athlete said: “I was simply trying to protect Reeva. I can promise that when she went to bed that night she felt love. I have tried to put my words on paper many, many times to write to you but no words would suffice.”

Read more: Oscar Pistorius trial - the most dramatic moments

Prosecution to appeal verdict

However, campaigners to end violence against women drew attention to South Africa’s disturbingly high rates of violence against women. The trial heard the law graduate and model had said to Pistorius: “I’m scared of you sometimes, and how you snap at me.” Neighbours reported hearing screams and Ms Steenkamp was “in a defensive position” when she died.

The prosecutors won their bid to appeal the culpable homicide conviction and will seek a murder conviction when their case is heard in November.

The decision could leave Pistorius open to a prison sentence of at least 15 years if he is convicted of murder.