How dare they! Musketeers fan angry at terror gang’s nickname
A literary buff has criticised a group of Midlands terrorists who branded themselves the ‘three musketeers’ for denigrating the fictional characters of Alexandre Dumas’ classic novels.
Harry Hayfield, of the Society of Friends of Alexandre Dumas, has also complained to West Midlands Police to express his dissatisfaction over the term being used to describe the Islamic extremists.
It comes after Naweed Ali, Khobaib Hussain, Mohibur Rahman and a fourth man, Tahir Aziz, were handed life sentences after being found guilty of plotting a terror attack similar to that of Fusilier Lee-Rigby.
Mr Hayfield, a former Lib Dem councillor, told the Express & Star: “The simple matter is that these people do not represent what the Musketeer Corps stood for. The Musketeers in Alexandre Dumas’ novels represent honour, friendship, and bravery – not dishonour, discord, and harm like these men.
“My main concern is that, in this day and age, whenever anyone is now researching the Three Musketeers this story will now come up. on Google.
“I don’t want people thinking that they represent Dumas’ Three Musketeers.“Had they wanted to use a literary connotation then why did they have to go for one that represented the exact opposite of what they stood for?”
In his letter to West Midlands Police, Mr Hayfield, aged 42, of Ceredigion, Wales, said he wished the force had put a disclaimer on its press release saying the views of the terrorists did not represent ‘those of the Society of Friends of Alexandre Dumas, the translator of Dumas’ works, or any of the actors who have portrayed the musketeers in films or TV series’.
He added: “The first time I saw the story was when I was watching the TV news and I thought it was an odd description.
“I don’t take what I see or read at face value and looked up what West Midlands Police was saying about the case.
“I had a conversation and then emailed in my complaint.”
The force replied saying the ‘Three Musketeer’ nickname was coined by the terrorists and was a feature of the court case in the Old Bailey.
Mr Hayfield, aged 42, of Ceredigion, Wales, has also written his own novel about a Welsh councillor who travels in Texas in the United States and finds himself serving as one of the French King Louis XIII’s Musketeers.
He said he first became interested in Dumas’ works after watching the children’s Spanish–Japanese animated adaptation ‘Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds’.
Naweed Ali, aged 29, and Hussain, aged 25, both of Evelyn Road, Sparkhill, and Rahman, aged 32, of High Lane, Stoke on Trent, were given life sentences to serve a minimum of 20 years.
Aziz, aged 38, of Wulstan Road, Stoke on Trent, was also handed a life sentence to serve a minimum of 15 years.
Ali, Hussain and Rahman were all sentenced in their absence after refusing to go into the dock on Thursday.
Evidence found on phones and other devices belonging to the group showed that the four men shared radical and extremist beliefs and ideologies, and believed in the use of violence to support these beliefs.
Examination of Ali and Rahman’s phones revealed Telegram messages between them on a group they had set up called the ‘Three Musketeers’ in the weeks ahead of the arrests while they were planning an attack.
An elaborate undercover police operation, which included setting up a fake haulage company with a Wolverhampton HQ, discovered a pipe bomb and ammunition in Ali’s car.
West Midlands Police said it had received an email from Mr Hayfield and privately responded to him.
Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Lynnette Kelly said: “They dubbed themselves the three musketeers, they will now have ample time to read the full works of Alexandre Dumas whilst detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure.”
