Monday 10 November 2014 22:42, UK
South African prosecutors have revealed that their request to appeal the manslaughter conviction and five-year prison sentence handed to Oscar Pistorius will be heard on December 9.
The National Prosecuting Authority have described Pistorius’ sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp as "shockingly light."
The jailed paralympian's legal team had opposed the appeal but the stage is now set for a hearing before the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria next month.
Under South African law the double-amputee could serve just 10 months in jail.
The prosecuting authority explained on Monday that they "believe there exists reasonable prospects of a successful appeal based on a question of law."
The 27-year-old was handed a five-year sentence by Judge Thokozile Masipa following the trial which lasted more than seven months.
The athlete shot dead his 29-year-old girlfriend Steenkamp through a locked toilet door on Valentine's Day 2013, claiming he mistook her for an intruder.
The judge found there was not enough evidence to convict him of premeditated murder but the athlete was found guilty of culpable homicide and could serve just one-sixth of that sentence in prison.
The prosecutors claim that the judge "erred in over-emphasising the personal circumstances" of the athlete and the fact he was "anxious" and “seemed remorseful” during the trial.
Pistorius is currently serving his sentence in the hospital section of Kgosi Mampuru Prison in Pretoria.
