Oscar Pistorius granted bail in murder case

Pistorius, pictured leaving the court, has been granted bail but this will be under strict conditions

South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, who last week had his mansluaghter charge overturned to murder in the killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, has been granted bail by a court in Pretoria, South Africa.

Following his initial manslaughter conviction, Pistorius had been placed under house arrest after serving one year of his sentence in prison.

Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend, 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp, through the door of a bathroom in the home the two shared in Pretoria, and alleged that he shot her after mistaking her for a home intruder.

At the time, the prosecution believed Pistorius had been unaware of the identity of the person in the bathroom, but a later legal examination showed that he would in fact have known that in shooting, he would cause the death of whoever was behind the door, a rule that would lead to his conviction last week for murder.

Although Pistorius has now been convicted of murder, his sentencing will take place in April 2016.

His initial sentence for the manslaughter earned him a 5-year sentence, of which he has already served one year, although it is likely his sentence will be increased following the murder conviction.

In the interim, Pistorius will be on bail, with the court outlining the conditions of his parole. Prior to bail being announced, Pistorius’ lawyer Barry Roux said the paralympian would use that time to appeal to the constitutional court over his murder charge.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said he was not opposed to Pistorius'bail due to the strict conditions it was under.

The conditions of Pistorius' bail:

• He will remain under house arrest
• He will be electronically tagged
• He is being asked to pay 10,000 rand ($700, £450) for his bail.
• He will surrender his passport to authorities, rendering him effectively unable to leave the country.

He will also face a minimum 15 year sentence for murder.

Pistorius, in his statement, allegedly claims he is now studying law via correspondence.