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In November last year, news broke that Oscar Pistorius was eligible for parole.

It appeared that his time behind bars was drawing to a close, pending a so-called “victim offender dialogue” where he meets with June and Barry Steenkamp.

An exact date for Pistorius’ release was never given, but now the disgraced former Paralympian’s lawyers have instigated legal action regarding the stalled parole hearing process.

News24 reports:

…Pistorius’ lawyers contend that the 35-year-old became eligible for parole in February last year – when he had completed half of his sentence – and have accused the Department of Correctional Services of violating his right to fair administrative action in its handling of the process.

On November 20, Pistorius was transferred to a prison in Gqeberha, in preparation for that “victim offender dialogue”.

For reasons unbeknown to Pistorius’ attorney, Julian Knight, there has been no movement since then:

In a letter sent to the correctional services department last month, Knight also contended that the apparent delays in finalising Pistorius’ planned victim-offender dialogue with the Steenkamps [below] was “indicative of the fact that the Steenkamps are either not prepared to participate in the process or not ready to do so”.

Image: Gallo Images / Getty Images

…Given that the Steenkamps had openly stated that they believed Pistorius should serve his full sentence behind bars, in an interview with a British morning television show, Knight also questioned the purpose of them engaging in a victim-offender dialogue process with Pistorius.

Sheesh, I’m not sure going after Reeva’s parents is going to win any PR battles.

In response, Tania Koen, an attorney acting on behalf of June and Barry, said that they did intend on participating in the dialogue process:

“The Steenkamps have not rejected any attempts by the Department of Correctional Services to arrange a date for the Victim Offender Dialogue, and are participating in the process to facilitate the VOD. Barry especially remains committed and adamant to speak to Oscar Pistorius.”

Koen is also in discussion with the Appeals Court, because the Steenkamps believe that an “error in calculation” has been made and Pistorius should not yet be eligible for parole.

You can read the full article here, although it’s behind News24’s paywall. A News24 digital subscription costs R75 per month – I think you can stomach it.

[source:news24]