Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic runner with amputated legs who shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013, has been released from prison and placed under house arrest, a South African official said.

"Oscar Pistorius is under the supervision of correctional institutions," said Manelisi Wolela, spokesperson for the South African Department of Correctional Services, in a text message sent to The Associated Press.

Wolela cited officials from Kgosi Mampuru II prison, located in the capital Pretoria, where Oscar Pistorius was incarcerated after serving almost a year of a five-year sentence for the manslaughter of Reeva Steenkamp.

The correctional department initially announced that Oscar Pistorius would be released on Tuesday, in accordance with the decision of a parole board at the prison.

"The handling of the transfer is an operational matter for those responsible at the local level, and how they do it is their prerogative, taking into account the best interests of all parties involved, the victims, the offender, and the Correctional Department," Wolela added in a second text message to the AP.

According to South African law, an offender sentenced to five years or less in prison can be released after serving one-sixth of their sentence, which in Oscar Pistorius' case is ten months.

Oscar Pistorius was acquitted last year of murder on Valentine's Day, but the prosecution appealed and will seek a conviction for murder before the Supreme Court on November 3rd.

If the athlete is convicted of murder by a panel of five judges on appeal, he faces the possibility of returning to prison for 15 years, the minimum sentence for murder in South Africa, which no longer has the death penalty.

Oscar Pistorius, 28, gained worldwide fame when he competed in the 2012 London Olympics, becoming the first amputee runner to compete in the Games.

Source: AP