Mumbai : Somerset West (SA) Oscar Pistorius’ family criticised South African authorities for delays in deciding whether he should be released from jail and moved to house arrest, saying his rights were being “undermined” because of the publicity surrounding his case.
The family reacted to parole officials’ recommendation that the he should undergo psychotherapy, saying he was already receiving “regular and ongoing” psychotherapy from both his personal and prison psychologists. The Pistorius family spoke out in a written statement after his early release which had been granted in June was cancelled and ordered to be reconsidered. “This leaves us with the uncomfortable conclusion that the public, political and media hype that was allowed to develop around Oscar’s trial has undermined his right to be treated like any other prisoner,” Pistorius’ family said. The family expressed concerns over the “legality” of cancelling Pistorius’ release. Pistorius was approved to be released on August 21 after serving 10 months of his five-year sentence for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. In a fairly common procedure in SA for offenders sentenced to five years or less, he would have been moved from jail after one-sixth of the sentence to serve the remainder under correctional supervision at home. —AP
