Pistorius family to sue over new movie
Publish date: 09 October 2017
Issue Number: 746
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: General
Oscar Pistorius’ family says a new film released last Monday showed a 'blatant disregard' for both his and Reeva Steenkamp’s family, and are taking legal action against the movie-makers. According to a TimesLIVE report, the Pistorius family dismissed the movie as a 'gross misrepresentation of the truth' and said neither Oscar, his family nor the defence were involved or consulted about the production. They said the movie was not a true reflection of what occurred on the night Steenkamp was shot dead by Pistorius but was rather a 'representation of what the prosecution tried to portray'. The family’s comments comes after a teaser for the movie, Blade Runner Killer, was released last Monday. TimesLIVE says the movie shows scenes of court proceedings and also what may have happened on the night of the killing. ‘The "film" is a gross distortion of the findings of the court. Oscar was subjected to in depth assessments and on-going tests almost daily for a month long; at no stage was Oscar found to have the mind of a killer‚' the family said in a statement. 'We will be taking legal action.' They have called on the film company‚ Lifetime‚ to publicly state that the family did not give its endorsement in any way. The report notes Pistorius is serving a six-year jail term for the murder.