The department said in a statement that Justice Minister Michael Masutha is checking to see if the decision by a parole board to approve Pistorius for house arrest was correct.
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Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide last year for shooting dead his girlfriend, law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp, 29, on Valentine’s Day 2013, through a locked toilet door.
South African law states those criminals with sentences of five years or less can be released on parole after serving one-sixth of their sentence.
The CSPB of the Pretoria Prison in which Pistorius is being held decided in June to put him under house arrest, also known as “correctional supervision”. Masutha said he had been petitioned by the Progressive Women’s Movement of South Africa, opposing the athlete’s release.
“I came to the conclusion that the board had erred in sitting and considering his application for parole before the minimum period that he is required to serve under the relevant provision had lapsed”, Masutha said on Talk Radio 702. The details of their case will be submitted to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on Monday.
South Africa’s justice ministry has suspended the release that was scheduled for this Friday, according to BBC.
The organisation’s argument that Pistorius should not be released in Women’s Month was “not sound in law”, he added, but prompted him to study the parole decision and find fault in its timing.
When the time comes that he will be released, he will live in his uncle’s house in Pretoria to serve out the rest of his sentence.
Legal experts were confused by the move to block Pistorius’ release and the athlete may even have cause to dispute the decision.
It could now take months for the board to review its decision, legal sources told the BBC.
However section 77(1) of the Correctional Services Act enables him to refer matters to the Correctional Supervision and Parole Review Board (CSPRB) for a review of the decision of the CSPB.
We were doing something in celebration of Reeva, because it’s her birthday today [Wednesday].
Steenkamp’s parents June and Barry had been outraged by the idea of Pistorius getting out of jail after just 10 months.
During a police interview, the Paralympic champion said he called out to the “intruder” – who did not respond.
Pistorius, 28, landed in prison after an epic trial during which the athlete, who became a national hero when he competed in the London Olympics on specially designed prosthetic leg blades, was yanked from his pedestal.
They were joined at a beach near their home in Port Elizabeth in South Africa by a small group of friends and family all clutching roses.
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The appeal judges will consider the application in November.
