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Prosecutors file appeal seeking murder conviction for 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

South African Paralympian star is due to be released after spending less than a year behind bars for culpable homicide over the killing of his girlfriend

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Oscar Pistorius during his trial in Pretoria in May last year. He is expected to wear an electronic tracking tag when he is released on Friday after serving 10 months of a five-year sentence for killing his model and law graduate girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013. Photo: Reuters

South African prosecutors on Monday filed an appeal calling for Paralympian star Oscar Pistorius to be convicted of murder for killing his girlfriend – just days before he is due to be released from prison.

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Pistorius has spent less than a year behind bars since being convicted in a sensational trial on the lesser charge of culpable homicide, and is expected to leave jail on Friday for a form of house arrest.

I think the chances are pretty good that the appeals court will rule in favour of the state and overturn the verdict
Criminal lawyer Ulrich Roux

But the 28-year-old could soon be back in prison if prosecutors are successful in their argument in the appeal court that he should have been convicted of murder rather than culpable homicide – a charge equivalent to manslaughter.

If they win their case, which is expected to be heard in November, Pistorius could face at least 15 years in jail.

The athlete – known as the “Blade Runner” for the prosthetic legs he wears on the track – won international fame after racing against able-bodied competitors in the 2012 London Olympics, and his trial was broadcast live around the world.

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“I think the chances are pretty good that the appeals court will rule in favour of the state and overturn the verdict,” said Ulrich Roux, a criminal lawyer in Johannesburg.

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