set the date of the oral hearing to take place within ten working days;59 said hearing took place on May 3060 and August 4, 2005.61 53. On September 29, 2005, the Third Division of the Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal.62 C.2 Petition for cassation 54. Dissatisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeals (supra para. 53), Tulio Álvarez then filed a petition for cassation before the Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court. 63 55. On February 7, 2006, the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court dismissed the petition for cassation64 based on Article 46565 of the Organic Code of Criminal Procedure, considering that the maximum penalty for the crime of aggravated defamation did not exceed 4 years, a requirement stipulated by Article 45966 of that Code. D. Enforcement of the final judgment 56. On July 3, 2006, the Ninth Trial Court for the Enforcement of Judgments of the Criminal Judicial Circuit of the Caracas Metropolitan Area (hereinafter, “Ninth Trial Court”) ordered the immediate enforcement of the conviction delivered in the judgment of February 28, 2005. 67 In that decision it stated the following: […]This judgement having been declared irrevocable and final […] the court orders the immediate execution of the sentence […], which is calculated as specified in the following table. Main Penalty Imposed 02 Years and 03 Months of Prison Date of detention: Time to be Served (Remaining): Has not been detained 02 Years and 03 Months. The DATE on which the SENTENCE ENDS HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED, since the DEFENDANT IS FREE. Furthermore, given that the defendant was sentenced to additional penalties under Article 16 of the Criminal Code,68 he shall be subject to political disqualification for the duration of the sentence once it commences […] Cf. Judgment of September 29, 2005 (evidence file, folios 15 and 16). Cf. Judgment of September 29, 2005 (evidence file, folio 16). 61 Cf. Judgment of September 29, 2005 (evidence file, folio 16). 62 Cf. Judgment of September 29, 2005 (evidence file, folios 15 to 43). 63 Cf. Petition for Cassation filed by Tulio Álvarez Ramos (evidence file, folios 830 to 871). 64 Cf. Decision of February 7, 2006, issued by the Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court (evidence file, folios 75 to 83). 65 Article 465 of the Organic Code of Criminal Procedure: “Dismissal. If the Supreme Court considers that the petition is inadmissible or manifestly unfounded, it shall so declare, by a majority of members of the Court of Cassation, within fifteen days after receiving the case file, and shall return it to the Court of Appeals of origin”. 66 Article 459 of the Organic Code of Criminal Procedure: “Appealable decisions. A petition for cassation may be filed only against judgments of the appeals court that decides the appeal, without ordering a new trial, when the Public Ministry has requested in its indictment, or the victim has requested in his or her private prosecution, the imposition of a prison sentence exceeding four years; or the judgment of conviction imposes a sentence exceeding that limit, when the Public Ministry or private prosecutor has requested the imposition of a lower sentence”. 67 Cf. Enforcement decision of July 3, 2006, issued by the Ninth Trial Court for the Enforcement of Judgments of the Criminal Judicial Circuit of the Caracas Metropolitan Area (evidence file, folios 87 to 89). 68 Article 16 of the Criminal Code: “Penalties additional to incarceration include: 1. Disqualification from voting and from holding political office for the duration of the sentence. 2. Supervision by the authorities for one-fifth of the term of the sentence, after it has been served.” 59 60 13