The court ruled that defendants Miftah and Moukrim acted in bad faith because they published these items knowing that they were false – something that they had never conceded, according to Karam. But the ruling's most disturbing feature is its dangerously expansive notion of when speech disturbs the "public order": The aforementioned article contains untrue elements that impinge on the institution of the monarchy, where it states that "the role of the harem was limited to adorning and kissing the feet of King Mohamed V and to satisfy his sexual desires"; and that Hassan II, a rational man, was passionate about astrology and wore a talisman to ward off evil spirits. It impinges on the Islamic religion where it mentions that "the Alaouite tradition was that pregnancy preceded marriage," considering that this piece of gossip relates to the king who is the legitimate Commander of the Faithful. The article thus impinges on the fundamental pillars of the state that find expression in the institution of the monarchy and the Islamic religion; these are things that are sacred to the nation and to which Moroccans are attached in an essential manner. The untrue assertions about them that were published in the aforementioned article provoked indignation among citizens, inflicting harm on their spiritual values and their sacred beliefs – values and beliefs that form part of the public order – if they are not its very embodiment. Some observers noted that the prosecution of al-Ayyam was less about curbing political reporting than about halting a trend in the popular press toward gossipy feature-writing about the royal family. But the prosecution was a warning nonetheless to all publications of the legal risks associated with any form of critical reporting or commentary on the monarchy. Al-Ousbou'iyya director charged for interview questioning monarchy The prosecution of Abdelaziz Koukas, director of al-Ousbou'iyya al-Jadida, andof Islamist Nadia Yassine exemplifies the legal dangers of posing even general questions about the monarchy. Both Koukas and Yassine, who is spokesperson for Justice and Charity, a Moroccan Islamist movement, face prison if convicted for an interview with Yassine that al-Ousbou'iyya al-Jadida published on June 6, 2005. In that interview, Yassine called the monarchy a form of government that was ill-suited to the country. The state prosecutor subsequently charged her and Koukas with "undermining" the institution of the monarchy, under Article 41 of the Press Code. The court has postponed the trial of Yassine and Koukas several times, most recently on March 14, 2006. It has not announced a new date, but the charges hang over both defendants. The prosecutor's office used the charges as a pretext to prevent Yassine from traveling abroad on February 20. They allowed her to depart two days later – too late, she said, to attend the event that was the motive for her trip. Fine and suspended prison term for "insulting" foreign head of state A satirical article and cartoon about Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika earned al-Mash'al a 100,000 DH fine and a one-year suspended sentence for the publication's director, Driss Chahtane.