South Africa’s state prosecution said on Monday that in November it would appeal the acquittal of murder charges against Olympic sprinter, Oscar Pistorius.
Pistorius was tried for killing his girlfriend, Ms Reeva Steenkamp.
The decision came after Judge Thokozile Masipa, who convicted Pistorius for manslaughter last September, rejected in March, a new attempt by the athlete’s lawyers to block prosecutors from raising his prison term.
The prosecution is seeking a murder verdict, which could raise Pistorius’ prison term from the current five years to 25 years.
“A date will be fixed in November 2015 for this matter,” Registrar of the Supreme Court of Appeal, Paul Myburgh said.
The 28-year old double amputee sprinter shot Steenkamp through a toilet door in his Pretoria home on Feb. 14, 2013.
The athlete is serving his sentence in the Kgosi Mampuru prison in the capital, Pretoria, where he has been placed in a hospital ward because of his disability.
The 41-day trial of Pistorius, the first double-amputee to compete against able bodied sprinters when he appeared at the 2012 London Olympics, ended in August 2014.
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