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Oscar Pistorius sentenced to six years in prison for murder

The South African was sentenced to six years in jail for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp three years ago, in a court in Pretoria.

Oscar Pistorius durante el juicio.
MIKE HUTCHINGSREUTERS

'The sentence that I impose on the accused... is six years imprisonment,'

Oscar Pistorius looks on during a hearing in his murder trial on July 6, 2016 at the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa.
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Oscar Pistorius looks on during a hearing in his murder trial on July 6, 2016 at the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa.PoolGetty Images

South African Paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius was taken to jail immediately on Wednesday after being sentenced to serve six years for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

The state had called for him to receive no less than the prescribed minimum 15-year sentence for murder. "Public opinion may be loud and persistent, but it can play no role in the decision of this court," High Court judge Thokozile Masipa said in her ruling.

Background to this outcome