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Oscar Pistorius Granted Bail

“But it all depends on whether the Constitutional Court will give them leave and come and argue the matter”.

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Pistorius spoke in court only to calmly say “I do” when asked whether he made his bail application voluntarily.

The Paralympian, dressed in a dark suit and tie, was present in the court, remaining calm and composed throughout, even sharing a joke with his lawyers occasionally.

Oscar Pistorius will remain free on bail while he awaits sentencing for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

Pistorius was in court to apply for bail after judges changed his manslaughter conviction to murder last week.

The National Prosecuting Authority wanted the prescribed 15-year minimum sentence imposed on murderer Oscar Pistorius. It is also unlikely that advertisers would want to sponsor him, as the Pistorius brand is now tainted.

Pistorius went to the North Gauteng High Court from his uncle’s mansion in Pretoria, where Pistorius had been serving his house arrest for the manslaughter conviction.

Trial judge, Thokozile Masipa had sentenced Pistorius to five years imprisonment and he had just served one year before being released on parole.

Barry Roux, the head of Pistorius’ legal team, said Tuesday that his client planned to appeal the murder conviction by taking his case to the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the country’s highest court. No date has been announced for his re-sentencing, which is expected early next year.

He explained the sportsman’s life had not been in risk during the time of the shooting, as Pistorius failed to understand if they presented a risk or who was behind the door.

Roux said Pistorius will appeal to the sentence, and added that his client is completely broke due to the long judicial process and that he no longer receives any money from sponsors.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel earlier said in the hearing, “This is a serious offense … that is why we think and we think there should be serious bail conditions”. “The conditions therefore should be stricter”, he said.

He rejected the prosecutor’s call for Pistorius to be forced to stay home all day, saying this would be a form of punishment and was not in the interests of justice.

Ledwaba said if the track star wishes to leave the house outside of these hours, he needs the written permission of the investigating officer, Captain Mike van Aard.

After the hearing, Pistorius reported to the Correctional Services headquarters to be fitted with an electronic monitoring tag. This illustrates the toll that these expensive legal proceedings has taken on the finances of Pistorius, once a multimillionaire.

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“The case is postponed to the 18th of April 2016”. He fired four shots into the door of a toilet cubicle in his Pretoria home on Valentine’s Day in 2013. She died at the scene.

Oscar Pistorius right confers with his defense lawyer Barry Roux in a courtroom of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria South Africa Tuesday Dec. 8 2015. Pistorius arrived in the South African courtroom where he is expected to apply for bail fol