'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius sentencing for girlfriend's murder set for June

South African Olympic and Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius arrives at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, on April 18, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

PRETORIA (Reuters) - Disgraced Olympic and Paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius will face sentencing in June following his conviction for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013.

"The matter is postponed to the 13th of June 2016, and it will be heard until the 17th of June 2016," High Court Judge Aubrey Ledwaba said.

Pistorius, known as "Blade Runner" for the carbon fibre prosthetic blades he used to race, faces a minimum 15-year jail sentence.

The Supreme Court in December upgraded the 29-year-old Paralympian's sentence on appeal to murder from "culpable homicide" - South Africa's equivalent of manslaughter, for which he had received a five-year sentence.

In March, the Constitutional Court, the country" top court, rejected Pistorius' right to appeal against his conviction for the murder.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.