South Africa put the release of Paralympian Oscar Pistorius on hold, saying a decision to free him on Friday after serving only 10 months in prison for killing his girlfriend had been premature. Justice Minister Michael Masutha said in a surprise statement on Wednesday that the June decision to allow Pistorius to serve out the remainder of his five-year sentence under house arrest had “no legal basis” and was suspended pending a parole board review. The 28-year-old athlete, known as “Blade Runner”, was convicted in October of culpable homicide – a charge equivalent to manslaughter – over the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013, but prosecutors have appealed, seeking a murder conviction instead. “It is apparent ... that the decision to release him on 21 August this year was made prematurely on 5 June this year, when the offender was not eligible to be considered at all,” Masutha said. “The earlier decision of the CSPB [Correctional Supervision and Parole Board] to place the offender under correctional supervision is suspended until the Parole Review Board has decided on the matter,” he said.