Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been released from prison, an official statement says.
Pistorius left jail late on Monday, officials said, to serve his remaining sentence under house arrest after spending a year behind bars for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
"Oscar Pistorius was placed under correctional supervision tonight," correctional services department spokesman Manelisi Wolela said in a statement.
"The handling of the actual placement is an operational matter of the local management, and how they handle it is their prerogative that is carried out in the best interest of all parties concerned."
Pistorius fired four shots at Reeva Steenkamp through a locked toilet door at his home in Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013. She died at the scene.
The athlete claimed he thought she was a burglar. He was found guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced on October 21, 2014, after a trial that lasted more than seven months and attracted worldwide attention.
Steenkamp's parents, who believe Pistorius shot their daughter while he was in a rage, appealed to the parole board not to release him.
On November 3, South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeals will hear arguments from the state on whether the verdict against Pistorius, 28, should be changed from culpable homicide to murder.
Prosecutors will argue that Judge Thokozile Masipa misinterpreted the law when she found that Pistorius, a double amputee who competed in the 2012 Olympic Games, had not deliberately shot dead Steenkamp.
If appeal court rules in their favour, Pistorius could be sent back to his cell at Kgosi Mampuru II prison for a minimum of 15 years.
AFP
