Circulation Sometimes Outweights Accuracy

Forget the evidence; The Star stands by its victim

Posted: September 29, 2009, 1:35 PM by NP Editor

During the weeks in which Suaad Hagi Mohamud was stuck in Kenya, pleading to be allowed to return to Canada, nobody owned the story like the Toronto Star.

Update: New Star version adds details of government's case. Purely coincidence, folks.

The Star championed Mohamud without reserve, assigning reporters to regular updates pleading her case while columnists wrote heart-tugging pieces deploring her treatment and questioning what kind of government could treat an innocent woman so harshly. When the Canadian diplomat handling the case returned to Canada the Star gave it front page treatment, ensuring maximum humiliation. When the time finally came for Mohamud to return to Canada, the Star sent a reporter over to accompany her home. (She's our victim! hands off!)

Then, on Monday, information began to emerge that suggested the case wasn't quite as cut and dried as the Star would have us believe. The federal government filed documents detailing the reasons Canadian officials in Nairobi had doubted Mohamud's claims. Referring to the documents, the CBC reported:

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