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Therapy For Pistorius As Prison Release Delayed

Therapy For Pistorius As Prison Release Delayed

Oscar Pistorius' release from prison - where he is serving time for killing his girlfriend - has been delayed and he has been told he must have psychotherapy.

The paralympic gold medallist was due to move to house arrest in August after serving 10 months of a five-year sentence, but South Africa's parole review board said the decision was made "prematurely".

The case will now be reconsidered by parole officials.

The Parole Review Board (PRB) said in a statement that its direction for the athlete to have psychotherapy was to address factors that might have led to his crime.

This therapy could go ahead even if he is allowed to go under house arrest, the PRB said.

The decision comes after South Africa's justice minister expressed concerns over an August release, saying procedure had not been followed.

It could mean Pistorius remains in prison until after November 3 when prosecutors still seeking a murder conviction against the double-amputee runner appeal to South Africa's Supreme Court.

Reeva Steenkamp, a model and reality TV star, died when Pistorius fired four shots though the bathroom door at his Pretoria home on St Valentine's Day 2013.

The 28 -year-old said at his trial he believed there was an intruder and that Ms Steenkamp was in the bedroom at the time.

The judge accepted his version of events and cleared him of murder, but he was found guilty of culpable homicide and jailed for five years.

He was given an additional three-year sentence, suspended for five years, for firing a gun in a restaurant.