By Susie Paterson

The Supreme Court in South Africa has increased Oscar Pistorius’ sentence to 13 years and 5 months after the state argued that his original sentence of six years was, “shockingly lenient.”

Jailed in July 2016, Pistorius was found guilty of killing his girlfriend model Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s day 2013, but plead not guilty saying he thought he was firing at an intruder in his home in Johannesburg.

His defence caused much controversy because of the ‘antics’ they portrayed in the courtroom, and it was later reported the Pistorias had be given acting lessons to enable him to cry on cue.

South Africa’s Supreme Court increased Oscar Pistorius’s murder sentence on Friday to 13 years and five months after the state argued his original sentence of six years for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was, “shockingly lenient.”

Rights groups in a country beset by high levels of violent crime against women say Pistorius, a gold medal-winning athlete known as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fibre prosthetics, received preferential treatment compared to non-whites and those without his wealth or international celebrity status.

Pistorius was jailed in July last year after being found guilty on appeal of murdering Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013 in a case that attracted worldwide interest.

He was not in court for Friday’s ruling. The court handed down the minimum 15-year sentence prescribed for murder in South Africa, and subtracted the years Pistorius had already served.