Oscar Pistorius, the Paralympic champion from South Africa, could be released from jail early if a parole board accepts his application. The 37-year-old is due to appear before the board on Friday. This is Pistorius' second shot at parole in less than eight months. He lost a first bid in March, when the board found he had not completed the minimum detention period required to be let out. The double-amputee Olympic runner has spent nearly 10 years in the prison.
Pistorius was one of the world's most admired athletes before he was convicted for killing her girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by shooting her multiple times 10 years ago.
What happened on February 14, 2013?
Ms Steenkamp, then 29, was shot dead when she was in toilet. The model had been Pistorius' girlfriend for three months.
The Olympian acknowledged that he killed her, but said he mistook her for an intruder. But the prosecutors argued during the trial that Ms Steenkamp had fled to the toilet after a late-night argument and Pistorius killed her in a rage.
They had also said that Pistorius fired four times through the door with his licensed 9 mm pistol.
Pistorius was eventually convicted of murder.
The trial
The sensational murder trial was carried by television channels across the world. Prosecutors argued that there was another side to Pistorius' life that involved guns, nightclubs and angry confrontations with people.
He was initially not found guilty of the murder and was convicted for culpable homicide. He was sentenced to five-year prison sentence in 2014. After his release in 2019, Pistorius was kept under house arrest.
However, South Africa's Supreme Court overturned the conviction and found him guilty of murder. Pistorius was then sentenced to six years in prison, which later increased to 13 years and five months.
The parole hearing
According to South Africa's laws, prisoners become eligible for parole after serving half their sentence. Pistorius' plea will be considered on Friday after a denial in March.
The second parole application was filed after Pistorius' lawyers took the case to Constitutional Court over errors made in calculating his eligibility in March. He was told he would only be eligible in August 2024.
However, Pistorius is not guaranteed to be granted early release. Ms Steenkamp's family, meanwhile, is set to oppose his parole.
Who is Oscar Pistorius?
He was born in South Africa in 1986. When Pistorius was 11 months old, both his legs were amputated below the knee because of a congenital defect.
But he never gave up and chose to run as a para athlete on blades - earning the nickname "Blade Runner". Pistorius won huge success in his career, becoming the first double-amputee to compete at the Olympics.
He also became one of the most marketable figures in the sporting world having overcome the amputation of both his legs below the knee.
