Oscar Pistorius Allowed To Leave South Africa
Pretoria, South Africa – The judge presiding over the Oscar Pistorius murder trial eased bail restrictions on the Olympic runner Thursday, allowing him to leave the country if he is invited to compete in athletic events abroad.
“I find no reason why Pistorius should be forbidden from leaving (South Africa) if he’s invited to compete in athletic events in other countries,” Judge Bert Bam said in court.
If Pistorius, a double-amputee and Paralympic star, desires to leave the country, he has to give authorities an itinerary before doing so. He also has to give his passport back to the court within 24 hours of his return to South Africa, the judge said.
Pistorius’ lawyers said that he had no plans to leave the country, but that he might have to in order to make money. His legal team initially objected to his travel restriction, arguing that Pistorius is not a flight risk.
Additionally, the court reversed the ban that kept Pistorius from visiting the estate where he shot and killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day this year.
Pistorius maintains his innocence, admitting that he shot Steenkamp but only because he feared she was an intruder. The prosecutors in the case have branded the crime pre-meditated murder, and tell a different version of events. In theirs, an altercation or argument between the couple may have turned physical, with Steenkamp locking herself in the bathroom to escape Pistorius. He then shot through the door, wounding and killing her.
Pistorius was not required to appear in court Thursday, and neither him nor members of his family were present.
The Olympic sprinter’s brother, Carl Pistorius, was also in court this week over the death of a woman in traffic collision in 2008. He arrived Wednesday at the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court in Johannesburg. He is facing a charge of culpable homicide, or unlawful, negligent killing.
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[Image via: Kastom, Wikimedia Commons]
