Judge Grants Oscar Pistorius Freedom To Leave South Africa For International Competitions

Mar 28, 2013 12:59 PM EDT

A South African judge ruled that Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic athlete charged with the murder of his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day, will be allowed to leave South Africa for international purposes only.

According to Yahoo! Sports, there are significant conditions to Pistorius' travel privelages; he must file travel plans to authorities no less than a week before departing, and he must surrender his passport within 24 hours of returning to South Africa.

However, Pistorius has no immediate plans to compete in any international competition as of now, but still may need to run in the future in order to raise money for all his legal fees.

According to local South African media reports, Pistorius financial situation has gotten so severe that he has explored the idea of selling his racehorses and other assets in order to pay his legal bills.

The bills will only stack up as South African police have indicated that they have no intentions in exploring any type of plea deal with Pistorius, meaning they will pursue charges of premeditated murder, despite his claims of it being an accidental shooting as he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder.

Pistorius was freed on a bond worth 1 million rand (about $113,000) last month.

Pistorius made history at the London Olympics last year when he became the first double-amputee track athlete to compete at any games. He didn't win a medal but did make the semifinals of the 400 meters and the final of the 4X400 relay, propelling the world's best-known Paralympian to the level of an international track star and one of the world's best-known sportsmen.

Related Articles:

Hollywood Stars Ryan Gosling And Charlize Theron Rumored To Play Oscar Pistorius And Reeva Steenkamp In Upcoming Movie

Kris Humphries Lindsey Vonn Nearly Dated Before Tiger Woods, Kim Kardashian Ex Close With Olympian As Nets Star Skips Deposition

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