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How Did Oscar Pistorius Shooting Reenactment Get On Air?

How Did Oscar Pistorius Shooting Reenactment Get On Air?

Oscar Pistorius’s lawyers say the paralympic athlete’s trust and privacy were violated when leaked footage was aired on Australian TV showing him reenacting the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, according to an eNCAnews video.

Pistorius was filmed in October in his uncle’s home reenacting the shooting as part of his pre-trial preparation by U.S. company The Evidence Room to create a 3D visiual map of the moments before, during and after the shooting, eNCA reports.

His lawyers say it was never meant to be broadcast but now it has been seen by the world. The footage was aired on Australian TV as part of a documentary, “Running Scared,” with interviews with Evidence Room CEO Scott Roder, according to the report. Roder has not responded to questions about whether his company sold the footage, and at for what price.

Pistorius’s lawyers say the footage was never meant to be seen and its release is a violation of their client’s privacy and trust. The footage show Pistorius running on his stumps, picking up his sister, and carrying her down the stairs. It also shows him screaming.

The release violates a non-disclosure agreement and is a breach of privilege, his attorneys said. They also say they cannot imagine the footage undermines Pistorius’s account of the shooting but they need more time to study the documentary.

Mark Llewellyn, executive producer of the Sunday Night program aired on Australian TV, said, “We would not have run the footage if we thought we had obtained it illegally,” According to BusinessStandard. “…the material…goes to the heart of both the prosecution and defense cases, including the account provided by Oscar Pistorius.”

The origin of the footage is important, said Stephen Tuson, an associate law professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

“If it was produced by the defense as part of their investigation and preparation for the trial, it’s strictly privileged, it’s confidential and it cannot be used,” Tuson said in the BusinessStandard report. “Whatever you tell your attorney is strictly confidential and privileged, if there’s a breach of that, there can be a mistrial…If there is a failure of justice, that’s the end of the trial.”