South African prosecutors say Pistorius sentence 'shockingly lenient', seek appeal

FILE PHOTO: Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius leaves court after appearing for the 2013 killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa's state prosecutors told the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on Friday the six-year sentence for murder handed to Paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius was "shockingly lenient" and asked for the right to launch an appeal.

Pistorius was imprisoned in July last year after being found guilty on appeal of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013. The case has attracted worldwide interest.

He was not in court for Friday's hearing.

FILE PHOTO: Former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius appears for sentencing for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp at the Pretoria High Court, South Africa June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Ludbrook/Pool/File Photo

Women's rights groups in a country beset by high levels of violent crime against women say Pistorius has received preferential treatment compared to non-whites and those without his wealth or international celebrity status.

The athlete was originally convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in jail. That conviction was increased to murder by the SCA in December 2015 and his sentence increased to six years by trial Judge Thokozile Masipa.

State prosecutors, led by advocate Andrea Johnson, said the sentence by Masipa was too lenient as the jail term was less than half the minimum 15-year sentence prescribed for murder in South Africa.

FILE PHOTO: Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius looks on ahead of his manslaughter sentencing hearing for the 2013 killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, October 16, 2014. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

Johnson said the High Court did not list the substantial and compelling factors for deviating from the 15-year sentence and that Pistorius had not shown remorse for the murder.

"There is no true, gut-wrenching remorse," Johnson said.

"It is shockingly lenient and has accordingly resulted in an injustice," she said, referring to the sentence.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux is seen before an appeal by state prosecutors against South African paralympian Oscar Pistorius's conviction last year at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein, November 3, 2015. Pistorius, freed on parole last month after serving a fifth of his prison term for killing his girlfriend, faces years more in jail if state lawyers can get his conviction scaled up to murder from culpable homicide. Prosecutors will argue before the Supreme Court that a high court judge was wrong to let Pistorius off the more serious charge after he fired four shots through a door on Valentine's Day 2013, killing Reeva Steenkamp. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko Picture Supplied by Action Images

Lawyers for the gold medallist, known as the "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetics, say he did not deliberately kill model and law graduate Steenkamp.

Barry Roux, lead defence lawyer for Pistorius, said the athlete was suffering from severe and worsening post-traumatic stress disorder over the case.

Roux said Masipa had addressed the misperception that Pistorius deliberately killed Steenkamp.

"Leave to appeal should really not be granted," he said.

The court did not set a date for when it would rule on whether the appeal can be heard or not.

(Reporting by Dinky Mkhize; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Catherine Evans)