Oscar Pistorius’ defence team has condemned the airing of a video showing the athlete re-enacting the events of the night he killed his girlfriend.
The footage shows Mr Pistorius shouting and running on his stumps as he simulates holding a handgun.
It was aired in Australia only by broadcaster Channel 7 on Sunday.
A spokesperson for Mr Pistorius’ said that the footage was filmed in order to create a “forensic animation”, but that it was “obtained illegally”.
“For the family, the airing of this footage constitutes a staggering breach of trust and an invasion of the family’s privacy”, the statement said.
The footage has not been seen in court in South Africa, where the athlete is on trial for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
In the video – filmed at his uncle’s house – Oscar Pistorius rushes forwards on the stumps of his legs.
He holds out an imaginary gun in his right hand and screams “Reeva, call the police”. He is also shown carrying a woman out of a toilet and downstairs.
The re-enactment was done to help US specialists create a computer model of the shooting of Ms Steenkamp.
The BBC’s Andrew Harding, in South Africa, says it is not clear why the full reconstruction was not used at the murder trial.
In the leaked footage Mr Pistorius looks unsteady on his stumps, but perhaps more mobile than one of his doctors had described in his evidence last week, our correspondent says.
Mr Pistorius says he shot his girlfriend after mistaking her for an intruder in their house last year.
The prosecution argues that he killed her deliberately after a row.
The sprinter and Ms Steenkamp had been dating for about three months before the shooting.
There are no juries at trials in South Africa, so the athlete’s fate will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors.
If found guilty of murder, Mr Pistorius, who went on trial on 3 March, could face life imprisonment. If he is acquitted of that charge, the court will consider an alternative charge of culpable homicide, for which he could – if convicted – receive about 15 years in prison.
His trial will resume on Monday.
Source: BBC