Pistorius to be released from prison into house arrest next week

Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison next week ©Getty Images

Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison into house arrest next week, South Africa’s Parole Board has announced.

The decision on whether to let Pistorius serve the remainder of his five-year sentence under correctional supervision had originally been put back after a hearing of the Parole Review Board - the body which makes a final decision on parole matters - delayed proceedings on October 5.

He will now be imprisoned at his uncle’s home in Waterkloof, Pretoria.

The 28-year-old six-times Paralympics gold medallist was jailed for five years in 2014 for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, but had been battling through the courts in an attempt to be released early.

Pistorius had been due to be let out as early as August 21, exactly 10 months since he was sentenced for the culpable homicide of Steenkamp, but the South African Justice Department blocked the move, describing it as premature.

SABC TV journalist Chriselda Lewsi claimed the Steenkamp family, who have continuously campaigned for Pistorius to be convicted of murder, were informed of the decision yesterday.

According to CNN, correctional supervision is often considered by the Parole Board due to overcrowding in South Africa's prisons, which are also reportedly underfunded.

Pistorius still faces a case by prosecutors who are looking to upgrade Judge Thokozile Masipa's verdict to murder ©Getty Images

"The Board approved the placement of offender Oscar Pistorius under correctional supervision as from 20 October 2015," a statement from the South African Department of Correctional Services said.

"The Parole Board considered all submissions, including the offender's profile report, the directives of the Parole Review Board and the submission of the victim's family."

Double-amputee Pistorius still faces the prospect of having his conviction upgraded to murde, however, and prosecutors are due to present their case in court on November 2.

They claim he must have known girlfriend Steenkamp was still in the toilet when he fired four 9 millimetre shots through the door and they feel Judge Thokozile Masipa made mistakes during his trial and that his punishment was not harsh enough.

Pistorius maintains he is innocent of deliberately killing her as he claimed he mistook her for an intruder.

Options available include finding him guilty of murder, ordering a new trial or deciding that Masipa's original verdict should stand.