38 cause, rather it only referred to the “commission of the crime establishe din Article 505 of the Organic Code of Military Justice.” (supra para. 137). 139. On May 24, 2004, at 11 a.m., Mr. Usón Ramírez was taken before the Military Tribunal of Permanent First Instance of La Guaira, as a control tribunal, in order to carry out the hearing of pleadings to apply the measure of deprivation of liberty.131 Such tribunal was declared incompetent “to hear in the cause or incidence in which the alleged accused has the rank of General Officer”, so it ordered that the proceedings should be forwarded to the Martial Court to decide as applicable.132 The Martial Court received the proceedings on May 24, 2004 and ordered the Second Military Court of Permanent First Instance of Caracas to continue with the case, considering that a retired General, like Mr. Usón Ramírez, did not have the prerogative of a merit pre-trial before the Martial Court.133 Said Court decreed the pleadings for the judicial preventive deprivation of liberty of Mr. Usón Ramírez, in accordance “with the provisions of articles 250 and 251 of the Organic Code of Criminal Procedural.”134 140. The grounds for preventive imprisonment of Mr. Usón Ramírez motivated by the decision of May 24, 2004 by the Judge of the Second Military Court of First Instance of Caracas, 135 based on the decision of May 27, 2004, whereby it was pointed out that the “the judge has the exclusive power to determine when there is a reasonable presumption of danger of escape, i.e. the judge has an eminently discretional power.”136 To that end, the national judge found that “there was evidence of the alleged military crime of Insult against the Armed Forces […] and there were well grounded elements of conviction to estimate that the accused has been the author of such crime.”137 131 Cf. Transcript of the hearing of May 23, 2004 of First Military Court of First Instance of la Guaira, in relation to the request for the application of amplified measures regarding preventive detention (case file of attachments to the petition, tomo II, attachment 50, fs. 1229 a 1236). 132 Cf. Transcript of the hearing of May 23, 2004 of the First Military Court of First Instance of la Guaira, supra note 131, f. 1236. 133 Cf. Order of May 27, 2004 of the Second Military Court of First Instance of Caracas, supra note 95, f. 1354 134 Citation Ticket of May 24, 2004 of the Second Military Court of First Instance of Caracas , supra note 95, f. 1252. Article 251 of the Organic Criminal Procedure Code establishes that in order to claim there exists the danger of escape, the following must be taken into account: “1) [d]eep roots in the country, as determined by the domicile, usual place of residence for the family, business or work and possibility to abandon the country definitely or remain hidden; 2) [t]he sanction that could be set in the case; 3) [t]he scope of the damages caused; 4) “[t]he behavior of the accused during trial, or in any other trial, insofar as such behavior indicates his will to be subjected to criminal proceedings; 5) “[t]he pre-criminal behavior of the accused. The danger of escape is presumed in cases of facts punished by deprivation of liberty, whose maximum term is equal to or higher than ten years.” Regarding all of the above, article 247 of the Criminal Procedural Organic Code (“COPP”) points out that “all the provisions restricting the liberty of the accused […] shall be construed restrictively”. 135 The First Military Court of First Instance declared itself incompetent to judge the case during the hearing celebrated on May 23, 2004, and the Martial Court of the Criminal Military Circuit took over the record. The Martial Court received the case record on May 24, 2004 and ordered the Second Military Court of First Instance of Caracas to continue the case, which it did, supra note 95, f. 1360 and note 131, f. 1236. Order of May 27, 2004 of the Second Military Court of First Instance of Caracas, supra note 95, f. 1356. 136 Cf. Order of June 15, 2004 of the Martial Court of the Military Criminal Circuit, in relation to the review of the order of May 27, 2004 of the Second Military Court of First Instance of Caracas , supra note 120, f. 1375. 137 1359. Order of May 27, 2004 of the Second Military Court of First Instance of Caracas, supra note 95, fs. 1355 y