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24th Nov 2017

Oscar Pistorius has jail sentence extended by seven years in South African Supreme Court

Pistorius wasn't present in court

Conor Heneghan

Pistorius was originally sentenced to five years in prison in 2014.

Former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius had had a jail sentence extended from six years to 13 years and five months for his role in the death of his girlfriend Reena Steenkamp, who was shot six times in their home in February 2013.

According to The Guardian, Pistorius, who wasn’t present in court, had his sentence increased by the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on Friday, where a 15-year sentence was handed down by the court – the minimum sentence for murder in South Africa – minus the term Pistorius had already served in jail.

The former Paralympian was initially sentenced to five years in prison for culpable homicide by a High Court judge in 2014, but only served 10 months of the sentence before being released and put under house arrest.

After the conviction was appealed by the state, it was replaced by a murder charge and Pistorius was sentenced to six years in prison, before the sentence was extended to 13 years and five months on Friday.