Oscar Pistorius should remain in custody until at least November when an appeal against his murder acquittal will be heard, according to a spokesperson for a campaign group that protested against his early release.
Pistorius was to be released from prison later this week, just eight months into a five-year sentence following a verdict of culpable homicide for shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who he says he mistook for an intruder.
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However, South Africa's Ministry of Justice confirmed Wednesday that his release has been suspended, saying via a statement that the decision was made because he had not served the legal requirement of one-sixth of his sentence. That would be 10 months, and when the decision was made in June, Pistorius had served only six months, leading the ministry to note, "the offender was not eligible to be considered [for release] at all."
The decision was sent back to the parole board for review.
Jacqui Mofokeng, a spokesperson for ANC Women's League Gauteng, was part of the Progressive Women's Movement of South Africa that started a petition against the timing of the Paralympic champion's release. Mofokeng says that Pistorius must remain behind bars until the Supreme Court of Appeal hears the state's appeal against Pistorius' murder acquittal.
"It is our wish that Pistorius remains in custody until November when the Supreme Court of Appeal will hear the appeal brought by the NPA against the judgment and the sentence," Mofokeng told News24.
"The question is, if the petition was not out, we don't know what was going to happen because it looks like he was going to be out. We need to know more about the parole board. For me they have made a boo-boo, I tell you."