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Oscar Pistorius wins travel right after bail challenge | |
(35 minutes later) | |
South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius, charged with murdering his girlfriend, will be allowed to travel after challenging his bail terms. | |
A judge said the Olympic and Paralympic star would be allowed to leave South Africa to compete as long as he complies with certain conditions. | |
He will also be allowed to return to his home in Pretoria, where Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed. | |
He denies murdering the 29-year-old, saying he mistook her for an intruder. | |
In the hearing at Pretoria's High Court, Mr Pistorius also sought an end to supervision by a probation officer and compulsory drug and alcohol testing. | |
The state opposed the application. Mr Pistorius, 26, was not in court for the hearing. | |
Seeking income | |
The bail conditions were imposed by Magistrate Desmond Nair on 22 February - including the travel restrictions. | |
Mr Pistorius was originally ordered to hand over his two South African passports, avoid his home in Pretoria and all witnesses in the case, report to a police station twice a week and to abstain from drinking alcohol. | |
But they were relaxed but Judge Bert Bam, who described the decision not to grant Mr Pistorius permission to travel as "wrong". | |
Defence lawyer Barry Roux said the bail conditions amounted to "house arrest". | |
"Why would this athlete go to a country without extradition and go and hide," he asked the court. | |
"It is not as if the appellant is travelling for holiday in Mauritius; it's only to gain an income, there's no other reason." | |
Reports said the athlete had not yet resumed training and had no current plans to compete internationally. | |
In an unrelated case, the athlete's brother, Carl Pistorius, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with the culpable homicide of a female motorcyclist in a 2008 road crash. He pleaded not guilty and is due to appear in court again next week. | In an unrelated case, the athlete's brother, Carl Pistorius, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with the culpable homicide of a female motorcyclist in a 2008 road crash. He pleaded not guilty and is due to appear in court again next week. |