South African prosecutors will appeal the conviction of culpable homicide and the five-year prison term given to Oscar Pistorius for the shooting death of his girlfriend.
A spokesman for the country's National Prosecuting Authority, Nathi Mncube, announced the appeal Monday.
During his sentencing hearing, prosecutors called for the Olympic runner to receive a 10-year sentence, while the defense argued for house arrest and community service.
Pistorius began serving his prison sentence last week at Kgosi Mampuru Prison in Pretoria.
Under the terms of his sentence, Pistorius could be released from prison in ten months, serving the rest of the sentence under house arrest.
Pistorius was convicted last month of culpable homicide for shooting Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door at his home. He said he mistook her for a nighttime intruder.
The Olympian faced a more serious charge of murder, but Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled that prosecutors did not prove Pistorius shot Steenkamp intentionally.
The judge also gave Pistorius a three-year suspended sentence for a firearms charge, which will run concurrently with the sentence for culpable homicide.
Pistorius is known as the "blade runner" for his carbon-fiber prosthetic legs. He became the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics when he ran at the 2012 Games in London.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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