I at first turned Saadia in to them because I thought she was telling the truth. Also because she is alone, and is female. It would be kinda wrong to not help her if you think about it. The story she had seemed believable, and when I met Kematu I felt inclined to believe he was lying just to get what he wants. So after I killed him, and got paid I realized that what I did was wrong. I let my ignorance blind me, and my instinct. Although the second time around when I went with Kematu the story just seemed to fit well together. He had the pieces to the puzzle that Saadia doesn't reveal to you. So yes I agree with you Saryn. That bitch is full of shit. I don't feel bad at all when I send her back to Hammerfell.
And the distrustful Nords probably still would have thought the Redguards were full of crap and sent them away anyway, and you're forgetting that the city was closed due to the dragon sighting, so they probably would not have been granted an audience with the Jarl - in fact no one got to see hi except the player and that was only because he had info about Helgen.
You mean like giving information to a rival government? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's serious shit. They take away your rights in the USA if you do something like that - it's an act of treason.
So, even if Saadia did not do anything, an accusation is enough for the Hammerfell gov't to send people after her for confirmation. Plus the guilty ones always run.
I havn't played the quest in some time but I'm sure she says the Alik'r are assassins trying to kill her... If this was true then why when you see the random Alik'r harassing women are they saying stuff like "We're taking you back to Hammerfell."... surely they'd just kill the redguard women if they thought they were Saadia?
So yes I once helped Saadia because I didn't know the full story and it seemed right, but then I helped Kematu when i was attempting a 'evil' playthrough, quickly discovering that Kematu wasn't evil and his story just fits better
It's not good, but it is better than risking the Thalmor getting pissed off and openly attacking the city. They have the authority to do that, too. They could use Heimskr as an excuse, and say that since the Jarl didn't do anything about him, that they can kill the whole Whiterun gov't for violating the Concordat.