South Africa's justice department is considering intervening to prevent
Oscar Pistorius' early prison release. Justice Minister Michael Masutha
says he is seeking advice over the legality of a parole board decision
to free the Olympic athlete on Friday.
Pistorius has spent 10 months in jail for shooting dead his girlfriend
Reeva Steenkamp, after his conviction for manslaughter last year. The
Olympic athlete insists he mistook Ms Steenkamp for an intruder.
The disabled South African sprinter will be trading a cell in the grim
Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria — where he was protected around the
clock from the gangs that prey on other prisoners — for a well-appointed
room his uncle’s plush mansion in the suburbs.
There will be nobody watching over the fallen Olympian there. Nor will
he be required to wearing an electronic monitoring device. And he will
be allowed to leave the house for mandatory work and important family
events, according to reports.
The justice minister's comments follow a petition from the
Progressive Women's Movement of South Africa, who have described the
athlete's early release as "outrageous" and "an insult" to victims of
abuse.
"I'm confident that by Friday I would be in a position to determine
whether legally I have the authority to do anything," Mr Masutha is
quoted by AFP news agency as saying.
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