Venezuela's supreme court has rejected a proposal to try four military officers for their role in an attempted coup against President Hugo Chavez in April.

Chavez supporters pressed their point

Police clashed with pro-Chavez supporters outside the court following the decision. At least seven people have been shot and wounded.

The authorities had ordered troops and metropolitan police to ring the court and backed them with armoured vehicles and at least one tank.

Nonetheless, supporters of the president, who want to see the officers jailed, burnt tyres and blocked off streets near the courthouse.

The decision is a repeat of a ruling last week that sparked three days of violence.

Bitter divide

Under the supreme court rules, one judge must draft a ruling, and the 20-member court votes to either back it or reject it.

On Thursday the draft from a Chavez-appointed judge was in favour of sending the four officers to trial for their alleged role in the attempted coup.

Nine judges backed it; the 11 appointed by the president's rivals voted against it.

The president's supporters want the officers punished for what they say is nothing less than treason.

The officers still don't know if they will be tried

The case has widened the already bitter political divide between Mr Chavez's allies and his foes.

Those who back the populist president say he has brought social justice to the vast underclass of poor, while his opponents accuse him of driving a wedge between the classes and of pushing the country towards recession.

The court will have another opportunity to resolve the case of the officers one way or another when it tries again to reach a majority decision next week.