Johannesburg – Convicted murderer and Paralympian Oscar Pistorius was transferred to a Gqeberha prison on Friday.
Pistorius is in the same city as his late girlfriend’s parents.
He is due to face them soon ahead of him being considered for parole.
“The transfer is necessitated by the need to commence with the processes of a victim-offender dialogue as the victims are based in Gqeberha. Offenders participate in the victim-offender dialogue as part of their rehabilitation path wherein they are able to acknowledge the harm they have caused to their victims and the society at large,” the department said in a statement.
The department emphasised that the move and victim-offender dialogue is not a parole process but one that is undertaken prior to consideration for parole.
“This is an internal process and it is our humble plea that all participants be allowed to partake without undue pressure to disclose contents of the engagement. Victim offender dialogues are sensitive, emotional, and inconsolable hence they are presided by highly-trained officials who ought to ensure that all parties derive value from the process,” the department stated.
“DCS is unable to pre-empt the timeframe as this will be guided by the level of preparedness by all participants,” the department further said in a statement.
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