South Africa’s prisons service placed former President Jacob Zuma on medical parole, less than two months after he was jailed for contempt of court.
The authorities freed Zuma after receiving a medical report, the Department of Correctional Services said in a statement, without providing further details. Under the terms of Zuma’s release, he “must comply with a specific set of conditions and will be subjected to supervision until his sentence expires,” it said.
Zuma was arrested on July 7 after being sentenced to 15 months in jail for defying a court order to testify at a graft inquiry. His detention triggered deadly riots by his supporters in the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces that left at least 354 people dead.
