South African court grants Pistorius bail after murder conviction

PRETORIA: A South African court on Tuesday granted bail to paralympian Oscar Pistorius after he was convicted of murder for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013, with the judge saying the athlete did not pose a flight risk.

The Supreme Court last Thursday upgraded the 29-year-old athlete's sentence to murder from culpable homicide, South Africa's equivalent of manslaughter, for which he had received a five-year sentence.



Known as "Blade Runner" because of the carbon fibre prosthetic blades he used to race, Pistorius now faces a minimum 15-year jail sentence for murdering his girlfriend. A new sentence will be handed down at a later date.

Pistorius, who said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he opened fire with his pistol, was released from prison on parole in October after serving one year of his five-year sentence.



His trial attracted worldwide attention as he denied killing Steenkamp in a rage after the couple had gone to bed at his house in Pretoria.