Oscar Pistorius to challenge decision to allow appeal

Lawyers for Oscar Pistorius will challenge a judge's decision to allow an appeal against his negligent killing conviction by prosecutors, who want the Olympic runner convicted of murder.

Lawyer Brian Webber said Pistorius’s defence team has applied for permission to argue against Judge Thokozile Masipa’s approval of the prosecution appeal.

Judge Masipa ruled in December that prosecutors could go to South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal over Pistorius's culpable homicide conviction for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

The athlete is serving a five-year jail sentence for shooting Ms Steenkamp, but he could be put under house arrest in August.

If the appeal court finds that Pistorius should have been found guilty of murder, he faces a minimum sentence of 15-years in prison.

PA