17. With respect to the application for precautionary measures, the State attached a note from the Director of the Penal Center of Tela addressed to the judge of the sectional court of Tela, Lizeth Gomez Robleda, reporting on the violent events that had happened in that center, provoked by the prisoners themselves, which had resulted in several injuries and death threats, including against the prisoner Alfredo López Alvarez. It adds that the decision to transfer him to the penal center of Puerto Cortés was taken on instructions of the senior authorities of the Secretariat of State for Security, to ensure his personal safety, and to avoid possible bloodshed. 18. On August 10, 2000, in response to a request from the Commission for information, the State reported, with respect to the above-mentioned resolution of the Court of Appeals of La Ceiba dated May 2, 2001, as follows: a) Proceedings have returned to the indictment stage. With nullity having been declared, the parties are free to present the relevant evidence. The court annulled proceedings because, despite having twice summonsed the police officers who had arrested the accused, those officers were never subjected to legal examination because they failed to appear in court. The State notes that, in returning the case to the indictment stage, the Court of Appeals had allowed the attorneys for the accused ample opportunity to present evidence. b) The State adds that the law sets no specific time period for correcting the errors identified by the Court of Appeals, and that they must be rectified as quickly as possible. c) It declares that, given the nature of the crime of which the accused are standing trial, national legislation does not offer the benefit of an alternative to imprisonment. Moreover, Decree No. 127/1996, which provides benefit of release for persons held under preventive detention in penal institutions, establishes that prisoners who are being tried for the crimes of treason, parricide, murder, kidnapping, rape, robbery followed by homicide, or automobile theft may not benefit from those provisions, nor may those imprisoned under the law on illicit use and trafficking of drugs and psychotropic substances, regardless of the degree of the crime, the form of participation, or the degree of guilt of the accused. d) Finally, it indicates that Honduran criminal legislation sets no maximum limit on preventive detention in criminal proceedings. 19. With respect to admissibility, the State maintains that criminal proceedings are still underway, as provided in Honduran domestic legislation, and that all of the guarantees pertaining to the right of legitimate defense have been observed. IV. ANALYSIS WITH RESPECT TO COMPETENCE AND ADMISSIBILITY A. Competence of the Commission, ratione loci, ratione personae, ratione termporis, ratione materiae 20. The Petitioner is entitled, under Article 44 of the American Convention, to bring complaints before the Commission. The petition in question names individuals as presumed victims whose rights, as enshrined in the Convention, the State of Honduras was bound to respect and guarantee. As concerns the State, the Commission notes that Honduras is a party to the American Convention, having ratified it on September 8, 1977. The Commission therefore has competence ratione personae to hear the complaint. 21. The Commission has competence ratione loci to hear this petition because it alleges violations of the rights protected in the American Convention, committed within the territory of a member State. 22. The Commission has competence ratione termporis, because the facts alleged in the petition took place when the obligation to respect and guarantee the rights established in the Convention was already in effect for the State. 4