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Pistorius was imprisoned in July last year
after being found guilty on appeal of murdering his girlfriend
Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013. The case has attracted
worldwide interest.
He was not in court for Friday's hearing.
Women's rights groups in a country beset by high levels of
violent crime against women say Pistorius has received
preferential treatment compared to non-whites and those without
his wealth or international celebrity status.
The athlete was originally convicted of manslaughter and
sentenced to five years in jail. That conviction was increased
to murder by the SCA in December 2015 and his sentence increased
to six years by trial Judge Thokozile Masipa.
State prosecutors, led by advocate Andrea Johnson, said the
sentence by Masipa was too lenient as the jail term was less
than half the minimum 15-year sentence prescribed for murder in
South Africa.
Johnson said the High Court did not list the substantial and
compelling factors for deviating from the 15-year sentence and
that Pistorius had not shown remorse for the murder.
"There is no true, gut-wrenching remorse," Johnson said.
"It is shockingly lenient and has accordingly resulted in an
injustice," she said, referring to the sentence.
Lawyers for the gold medalist, known as the "Blade Runner" for
his carbon-fiber prosthetics, say he did not deliberately kill
model and law graduate Steenkamp.
Barry Roux, lead defense lawyer for Pistorius, said the athlete
was suffering from severe and worsening post-traumatic stress
disorder over the case.
Roux said Masipa had addressed the misperception that Pistorius
deliberately killed Steenkamp.
"Leave to appeal should really not be granted," he said.
The court did not set a date for when it would rule on whether
the appeal can be heard or not.
(Reporting by Dinky Mkhize; Writing by James Macharia; Editing
by Catherine Evans)
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