Oscar Pistorius released on parole after serving nine years for murder

Former Paralympic athlete was serving 13-year sentence for Valentine’s Day shooting of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been released on parole from a prison in South Africa nearly 11 years after he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The athlete was quietly taken out of the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria on Friday as media waited outside the facility to get a glimpse of him.

Pistorius, 37, served nearly nine years of his sentence of 13 years and five months for killing Steenkamp, 29, through a locked bathroom door on Valentine’s Day 2013. He was approved for parole in November.

Serious offenders in South Africa are eligible for parole after serving at least half their sentence. He will live under strict conditions until the remainder of his sentence expires in December 2029.

Steenkamp’s mother, June, said his release on parole had “affirmed” her and her late husband’s belief in the country’s justice system.