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Oscar Pistorius case: South Africa prosecutors to appeal | Oscar Pistorius case: South Africa prosecutors to appeal |
(35 minutes later) | |
South African prosecutors say they are going to appeal against the conviction and sentence given to athlete Oscar Pistorius for killing his girlfriend. | |
Last week, Pistorius began serving a five year prison sentence for the culpable homicide of Reeva Steenkamp, although he could be out in 10 months. | |
The double-amputee Olympic sprinter was cleared of murder. | The double-amputee Olympic sprinter was cleared of murder. |
"The appeal on conviction is based on the question of law," the national prosecuting spokesman said. | "The appeal on conviction is based on the question of law," the national prosecuting spokesman said. |
Pistorius' family have said that he will not appeal. | |
The athlete was also given a three-year suspended sentence for firing a gun in a restaurant. | |
"The prosecutors are now preparing the necessary papers in order to be able to file within the next few days," Nathi Mncube from the National Prosecuting Authority said in a statement. | |
Pistorius was charged by the prosecution with the pre-meditated murder of Ms Steenkamp, a model and law graduate. | |
He was acquitted of this and the lesser murder charge of dolus eventualis. | |
In South African law, this charge - also known as common-law murder - applies if the accused knew they might kill someone but still went ahead with their course of action. | |
The BBC's Pumza Fihlani, who followed the athlete's trial, says the prosecution's grounds for appeal may lie with how the judge interpreted dolus eventualis. | |
The judge's critics have argued that dolus eventualis includes the possibility of meaning to kill one person and ending up killing another, our correspondent says. | |
Pistorius says he shot dead Ms Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year by mistake, fearing there was an intruder in the house. | |
Inside Oscar Pistorius's home | |
3D animation of the apartment |