Oscar Pistorius has been granted parole and will be released from prison in January, almost 11 years after he murdered his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The South African former Paralympic star was serving a 13-year jail sentence for shooting girlfriend Ms Steenkamp multiple times through the bathroom door in their Pretoria home on Valentine's Day 2013.
Known as the "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, Pistorius went from a public hero as a Paralympic champion to a convicted killer in hearings that caught the world's attention a decade ago.
He was ultimately convicted of murder and sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison.
Pistorius, 37, has now been granted parole effectively from January 5, the Department of Correctional Services said on Friday.
Serious offenders in South Africa must serve at least half of their sentence to be eligible for parole, which Pistorius has done.
Pistorius was at the height of his fame and one of the world's most admired athletes when he killed Ms Steenkamp - shooting her multiple times in the bathroom of his villa in the early hours with his licensed 9mm pistol.
Pistorius testified at his murder trial that he killed Ms Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was a dangerous intruder hiding in his bathroom in the middle of the night when he fired four times through the door with his licensed 9mm pistol.
Prosecutors argued that Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and reality TV star, had fled to the toilet cubicle during a late-night argument and Pistorius killed her in a rage.
Pistorius was eventually convicted of murder on a legal principle known as dolus eventualis, which means he acted with extreme recklessness and should have known that whoever was behind the door would likely be killed.
Ahead of Friday's decision to release Pistorius, Ms Steenkamp's mother made a last-ditch appeal to block his release.
June Steenkamp said she believed her husband Barry died from a broken heart in September after 10 years of grief.
In a victim impact statement to the parole board in South Africa, Mrs Steenkamp said Pistorius had robbed her of her “dearest child and her heartbroken husband”.
Responding to Pistorius' claim he had believed Ms Steenkamp to be an intruder, her mother said: "I do not believe his version...my dearest child screamed for her life, loud enough for neighbours to hear her. He knew it was Reeva."
Pistorius was initially jailed for five years in 2014 for culpable homicide by a high court, but the Supreme Court of Appeal in late 2015 found him guilty of murder after an appeal by prosecutors.
He was sent back to jail for six years in 2016 - less than half the 15-year minimum term sought by prosecutors.
In 2017, the Supreme Court eventually more than doubled his sentence to 13 years and five months, saying the six-year jail term was "shockingly lenient".
