Pistorius, who had his lower legs amputated as a baby, was expected on release to be mostly confined to the home of his uncle, Arnold, a high-walled mansion in the leafy Pretoria suburb of Waterkloof.
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Double amputee Pistorius, 28, was also given a new bed and allowed to cook for himself after claiming he was in danger of being poisoned.
“He complained that he wanted a bath. They built a bath in his cell”, he said.
After behaving well in jail, Pistorius was approved by a parole board in June for release this past Friday, when he would have served the required one-sixth of his sentence in jail.
After Pistorius’s early prison release was denied this week, Mentoor has revealed that the athlete had a bath installed in his cell and a new bed after complaining about the previous one. Du Toit thinks Pistorius is now being unfairly treated because of the high profile of his case, which has stoked emotional reactions. He also had a complaint about his bed.
Mofokeng told reporters she had exchanged text messages with June Steenkamp on Wednesday about the minister’s decision, which came as the family was marking what would have been Reeva’s 32nd birthday.
While the decision to review Pistorius’ release was correct on a legal technicality, in practice many prisoners in South Africa are similarly approved in advance of the date they can be released, Du Toit and others said.
Spokesman Mhaga said “the decision of the parole board will have to be suspended”.
Prosecutors filed an appeal this week asking for the verdict of culpable homicide, equivalent to manslaughter, changed to murder because they argue Pistorius must have known when he fired that the person behind the door could be killed.
Two days before he was due to leave prison, Pistorius’ early release was put on hold Wednesday by South Africa’s justice department, which sent his case back to a parole review board.
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“No decisions have been taken, and the family will take their time to calmly consider the way forward”, said Pistorius family spokesperson Anneliese Burgess.
