The New York Times story linked here is among the most detailed we have seen of the baffling events in Egypt, where three reporters for Al Jazeera have been given long sentences for publishing false news. One of the convicted men is a Canadian of Egyptian extraction. An observer of this situation doesn’t have to be an admirer of Al Jazeera to be concerned. In fact, those who know the work done at the Arab-owned news outlet may well say that it seems to work quite hard at finding angles to embarrass the West. It was a large sensation in Al Jazeera, for example, when the U.S. decided not to respond when the North Korean dictator grovelled for food supplies This is the guy who wallows in French wine, liquor, food and expensive cars. None of this is taken seriously in our open society and it is baffling why the Egyptian court is so wounded even in a country where free speech is a limited commodity. If stories such the New York Times account may be believed, the authorities have offered essentially no evidence to prove their allegations of false news. Put this together with the international condemnation following the verdict and the sentences seem doubly difficult to understand.