MOSCOW, September 11 (RIA Novosti) - The fate of Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is to be decided on Thursday, as the judge will rule whether Pistorius is guilty of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Judge Thokozile Masipa will make the decision on her own with the advice of her two legal advisers. The decision may be delivered in the course of two days, according to The Telegraph. The judge's ruling is being kept in extreme secrecy.
If Pistorius is found guilty of murder, then he faces at least 25 years in one of three prisons: Pretoria Central, Baviaanspoort that is on the outskirts of the city, or Zonderwater, situated in the countryside to the north.
Pistorius arrived to court on Thursday with his lawyer Barry Roux, his brother Carl, and Steenkamp's parents, Barry and June.
The tragedy happened on February 14, 2013, when Reeva Steenkamp's body was found in Pistorius's toilet room. According to Pestorius, he woke up at night and heard sounds from the bathroom. Thinking it was a robber, he shot several times at the closed door. When he opened it, he saw his bleeding girlfriend who died shortly afterward.
On February 19, 2013 Pretoria Prosecutor Gerrie Nel charged Pistorius with the premeditated murder. Later in February, the athlete was released on bail for a million South African rands.
In March 2013, Pistorius's lawyers appealed the court's decision not to let him out of the country, and the appeal was granted. Pistorius was ordered to present a detailed plan of his journeys no later than a week before leaving the country.
Pistorius is a double amputee runner and a six-time Paralympic champion who has also taken part in able-bodied competitions. He won a silver medal in the 4x400 meter relay at the 2011 world championship.
Judge Thokozile Masipa was arrested in 1970s when taking part in protests against the detention of journalists during Apartheid. In 1998, she became the second black woman in South Africa to be appointed a judge.
