Ali Yusuf (Murder in Mesopotamia)

In the novel Murder in Mesopotamia, Ali Yusuf is an Iraqi accomplice of Father Lavigny (in reality being impersonated by a crook named Raoul Menier) in the theft of antiquities from the archaeological dig at Tell Yarimjah.

He is seen by Louise Leidner and Nurse Leatheran when he is trying to peer into the windows of the expedition house. On a separate occasion, Nurse Leatheran sees him talking to Father Lavigny outside the house. According to Nurse Leatheran, he is tall, has a very dark complexion, and is of a "rahter slender build".

Poirot later explains that Yusuf is a first-class working jeweller, and had made clever duplicates of several items in the antika room in the expedition house, using the wax impressions taken by Menier. When Nurse Leatheran and Louise had seen him, he had been reconnoitring the antika room from outside the house.

Portrayals
There is no character with this name in the ITV 2001 TV adapatation of the novel. Father Lavigny does have an accomplice whom Captain Hastings spots looking into windows of the dig headquarters. Later, this same man shadows Poirot to the telegraph office in Baghdad and observes him sending messages, including one to Carthage. From this, he probably suspected that Poirot was checking up on the bona fides of Father Lavigny. Knowing that Lavigny's cover would soon be blown, he helped Lavigny escape from the dig. There is a character listed as "squat man" in the credits and is played by Kamel Touati. This character is an accomplice of Father Lavigny and so could be the Ali Yusuf in the novel.