The family and attorney of jailed Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius insist that is he is eligible for parole.

The family and Julian Knight are arguing that the Correctional Services Department and the parole board have their dates wrong.

However, the department says Pistorius has not yet served his minimum sentence in accordance with a ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein in November 2017.

Under South African law, offenders must spend at least half their sentence in prison before becoming eligible for parole. In papers filed in the Constitutional Court, Pistorius is seeking clarity on the dates.

The SCA had sentenced him to 13 years and five months, an increase from the six years he had been given in 2016.

Papers reveal, however, that in March 2023, the SCA issued a communique, prior to the sitting of his parole hearing, that the sentence of the November 2017 order is effective from 24 November 2017.

Pistorius states in papers that the said communication is not correct.

He further argues, among other things, that the “unjustified, arbitrary and unlawful” implementation of the November 2017 order infringes on his fundamental rights, and has in effect increased the amount of time he has to serve leaving him only eligible to apply for parole in  August 2024.

Source: SABC News