South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius files papers to appeal his murder conviction

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius filed papers to appeal against his conviction for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, a family spokesperson told Reuters on Monday.

The athlete, nicknamed “Blade Runner” because of the prosthetic legs he uses to race, has spent the last three months under house arrest at his uncle’s home in a wealthy Pretoria suburb.

Asked whether papers were filed requesting leave to appeal Pistorius’s conviction, family spokesperson Anneliese Burgess said: “Yes. This afternoon 15h00.”

(Reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by Catherine Evans)