The counsel for the defence, Oscar Pistorius has opted not to appeal against the judgement issued by Judge Thokozile Masipa minutes ago.

This was made known by Pistorius’ attorney Andrew Fawcett, while speaking to reporters outside the court.

He said the Pistorius team does not intend to pursue an appeal for the sentence as they respect Masipa’s decision.

“Pistorius will serve the sentence handed down by the court,” he said.

He then stated that Pistorius will have to serve “between half and two-thirds of the sentence” before he can file an application for parole.

He however added that the defence team will  “react” if the state/prosecution decides to appeal the sentence.