Johannesburg, Aug 28 (IANS): The family of South African para-athlete Oscar Pistorius has announced that the date of his parole board review has been set for September 18, when a decision will be taken on whether to release him to serve the remainder of his five-year sentence under house arrest for the culpable homicide of his girlfriend.

The double-amputee's family learned that members of the South African prison authorities would meet in three weeks to decide if the Olympic sprinter should be placed on parole and if so, set a new date for his release, Efe reported on Thursday.

Prison authorities announced in June that Pistorius would leave prison on August 21. But this decision was overturned by Justice Minister Michael Masutha, who blocked Pistorius' release on the grounds that the decision to grant parole had been premature.

According to South African law, Pistorius can continue serving his sentence under house arrest, having completed one-sixth of his sentence behind bars.

Pistorius, 28, was convicted and sentenced in 2014 to five years in prison for the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home in Pretoria during the early morning of February 14, 2013.