Help identifying dead man's tattoo

[SanderMeyer]

Hello dear sleuths,

I'm Sander, a private detective from Holland. Recently i have been trying to help identify a man who was found in december 2007.
The man hanged himself in the forest, and didn't carry any id. Police never found out who he was...

The victim had a very odd tattoo, and i think it could be the key to his identity. Dutch police thought it had something to do with soviet, but i couldn't find any evidence for that theory. I think the man could be Iranian, and the tattoo could have something to do with Iranian partys, such as Komala. Somebody that knows about that party told me the tattoo could have been made in a training camp for Komala members.
So i guess i'm hoping for people with knowledge about Iranian partys. Have you ever seen this kind of tattoo? What are your thoughts? The tattoo was placed on the right inner leg.
The emblems next to the pic of the tattoo are that of Iranian party Komala. Please help me identify the person. Be aware, the other pic is him when already dead. You can read more about the case here. -Its in Dutch but you can translate-

 

[buyerninety]

The smaller circle appears as a skull, with red 'eye-
sockets and nose hole', unsure if the teeth are only
teeth or are some kind of tiny written characters
that also happen to look like teeth. The skull's
forehead appears to have a representation of a
snake arising on the left to strike at... what? at
maybe the two small smudges (on the foreheads
center & right) that are too indistinguishable to
figure what the smudges are meant to represent.

The larger circle and what is inside and projecting
from it is a complete mystery as to what it is
representing. Color orange or yellow, and green
(or is that color faded blue?), the jagged lines
representing... what? a political boundary with a
geographical feature overlaid, or vice versa?
I found nothing that matches the jagged lines.

 

[fred&edna]

Could the larger tattoo represent a dagger in front of sun rays (which can be seen in the flag image?) I also agree... there appears to be a skull.

I don't know if it helps but I found myself reading about this tattoo artist and wondered if the images had a basis in a Deq motif (or maybe they are only related to "fighting/defending" as you suggest)

Deq: The tattooist preserving the ink of a disappearing culture

In Diyarbakır, Turkey, one 24-year-old is documenting an ancient practice and popularising it among a new generation.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[ifindedout]

Kurdish?

Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[buyerninety]

ifindedout said: "Kurdish?"

Could be. Parting thought;
The orange or yellow might have been a quite
bright color, puts me in mind of Sikhs or Hindu's
..maybe the tattoo is a Sikh, or anti-Sikh, motif
..the previously theorised snake raising to strike
at (one of the small smudges) ..a Sikh symbol?
(as like? seen on the Khalistan movement flag,
you can find a Wiki).
The previously mentioned large circle maybe meant
to contain a representation of a knife?(green or
blue color){'dagger' as fred&edna suggested} that
is cutting a political or cultural/ethnic area (1800's
Sikh empire? or part of some area near current
times Punjab region?).

 

[chaz]

Official police website:

's-Gravenzande - Staelduinse Bos | politie.nl

An unidentified male person was found in the Staelduinse Bos, about 25 - 30 years. Clothes: a kaki-beige coloured coat with fur, brown trousers, beige suede shoes, white T-shirt with "Northern…

www.politie.nl

 

[Bit of hope]

Hello dear sleuths,

I'm Sander, a private detective from Holland. Recently i have been trying to help identify a man who was found in december 2007.
The man hanged himself in the forest, and didn't carry any id. Police never found out who he was...

The victim had a very odd tattoo, and i think it could be the key to his identity. Dutch police thought it had something to do with soviet, but i couldn't find any evidence for that theory. I think the man could be Iranian, and the tattoo could have something to do with Iranian partys, such as Komala. Somebody that knows about that party told me the tattoo could have been made in a training camp for Komala members.
So i guess i'm hoping for people with knowledge about Iranian partys. Have you ever seen this kind of tattoo? What are your thoughts? The tattoo was placed on the right inner leg.
The emblems next to the pic of the tattoo are that of Iranian party Komala. Please help me identify the person. Be aware, the other pic is him when already dead. You can read more about the case here. -Its in Dutch but you can translate-

View attachment 449805View attachment 449806View attachment 449807

I see a simplified mountain and a sword. Golan Heights with this statue before it?

statue of the Great Syrian Revolt with its leader - Sultan al-Atrash​

The round thing (skull?? not sure it is) beneath it. The Syrian opposition flag is green, 3 red stars and black. The tattoo may have contained that colors but green and black are faded.

 

[chaz]

Wie is de man die 11 jaar geleden stierf in het Staelduinse Bos?

De identiteit van een overleden man die in december 2007 is gevonden in het Staelduinse Bos in ’s Gravenzande, is tot op de dag van vandaag nog niet bekend. De zaak staat op de coldcasekalender van de politie en in Team West doet de politie een nieuwe poging om meer duidelijkheid over de man te...

www.omroepwest.nl

It is all in Dutch. I google-translated it:

? -Team West 'S-GRAVENZANDE - The identity of a deceased man found in December 2007 in the Staelduinse Bos in 's Gravenzande is still unknown to this day. The case is on the police cold case calendar and in Team West the police are making a new attempt to gain more clarity about the man. This is a case from the Team West investigation program of Tuesday, December 11. More things can be found here. The man's body was found on Sunday afternoon, December 9, 2007, by a hiker, who immediately alerted the forest ranger. The man was hanging from a tree by the strap of a sports bag. After investigation, the police ruled out that he died as a result of a crime. In 2007, the police conducted extensive research into the identity of the man. Fingerprints were taken, DNA testing was done, the man's clothing and glasses were examined, his photo was shown in the media and the police visited various holiday parks in the area. Passenger lists of the boat between Harwich and Hoek van Holland have also been requested. No identity All the investigation has not led to the identity of the man becoming known. He is buried in an unnamed grave at the cemetery in Naaldwijk. The cold case team of the The Hague police wants to be able to tell the man's family or friends what happened to him and where his body is buried. That is why the police hope that someone will still recognize the man and be able to tell more about him. It concerns a white man aged 25 to 35. He is 6 feet tall, has short dark hair, stubble beard and brown eyes. He may have worked in Westland in 2007 or you may have been on the boat with him from England. Striking tattoos The man has a small colored tattoo on the inside of his right leg. According to experts, it consists of two different tattoos, with the circle being a so-called 'sgul', a kind of sign of sadness or death. Those tattoos were done by an amateur. He has a colored tattoo of an eye on his upper right arm. This indicates that the man has had something to do with death, such as the loss of a loved one. Maybe someone knows why the man had it installed. In the video above this message, ranger Fred Spreen talks about the find of the man and Leo Simais from the cold case team takes us into the investigation. Do you have information for the police? Call the police investigation tip line: 0800-6070 Call Report Crime Anonymously: 0800-7000 Tip the police via WhatsApp Or complete the digital tip form at Politie.nl or Report Crime Anonymous

@SanderMeyer , do you know the brand of sigaret packs that were found near the scene? (01:49 minute mark)

 

[SanderMeyer]

Thanks so much you guys, you all showed me new leads to investigate. I have the feeling we are searching in the right direction in the Middle East. I think there should be somekind of group or party with similar patches... Still trying to find out more!

 

[ifindedout]

At the 7:02 mark in the video, it looks like the knife is bisecting a globe, with landmasses in red: the Indian subcontinent on the right, and the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula on the left, bisected by the Persian Gulf which along with the Indian Ocean is yellow.
ETA for rewriting

 

[ifindedout]

Rotated image of leg tattoo:

 

[fred&edna]

Thanks so much you guys, you all showed me new leads to investigate. I have the feeling we are searching in the right direction in the Middle East. I think there should be somekind of group or party with similar patches... Still trying to find out more!

Yes, I believe you're headed in the right direction. Also, things may have been a bit different around 2007 (when he died) with different sect groups and their objectives during that time period.

 

[Cryptic]

I'm Sander, a private detective from Holland. Recently i have been trying to help identify a man who was found in december 2007.

The victim had a very odd tattoo, and i think it could be the key to his identity. Dutch police thought it had something to do with soviet, but i couldn't find any evidence for that theory.

Just some very vague observations.....

- Military Service was very mandatory in the USSR. Traditional Soviet military emblems were often bright and multi colored. They did not, however, feature red eyed skulls.

- But.... after the Soviet Union fell, there were alot of ex Soviet mercenaries- no- uhmm.... "private security contractors" serving in the former USSR, Iraq, Africa, Afghanistan, Yemen etc.

- Some of the ex Soviet security "companies" went "multi cultural" in regards to emblems. They kept the Soviet preference for bright and cheerful colors, but started adding skulls, bats, predatory animals, "grim reapers" etc.

Wrapping up...

- The deceased individual could be from the former USSR. Probably not Slavic- but then again Slavic appearances can vary. But, more likely Georgian, Daghestani, Ossetian, Tatar, Central Asian etc.

- Muslim amongst former ex Soviets would have been secular for generations and would be less likely to have religious / cultural objections to tattoos.

- Maybe he is ex Soviet with a post Soviet private security / mercenary emblem?

 

[SanderMeyer]

Also some women told me this was most likely made in a trainings camp of Komala... She said prison tattoo's for example never have colors. So the woman thought it was most definitely not a prison tattoo, and she was quite sure it was linked to Komala.... But i could not find anything on that so far.
Cryptic, thanks! Dutch police said they believed it was linked to something soviet. I contacted some soviet experts, and they couldn't find anything on that direction though

 

[Cryptic]

Cryptic, thanks! Dutch police said they believed it was linked to something soviet. I contacted some soviet experts, and they couldn't find anything on that direction though

I can understand how it would be difficult to find a Soviet link.

In the years immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union, ex Soviet mercenary companies very likely used a variety of different emblems, some "official", some not.

Likewise, ex. Soviet mercenary companies were probably created, went bankrupt, changed names, changed emblems, merged or split apart at a very fast rate.

 

[charminglane]

The little circle seems to me, to be a pomegranate.
Iran, Afghanistan, Greece?

 

[RickshawFan]

The little circle seems to me, to be a pomegranate.
Iran, Afghanistan, Greece?

I thought that, too. <modsnip>

 

[fred&edna]

Rotated image of leg tattoo:

View attachment 450306

Now that I'm viewing the tattoo with this rotation, within the top area of the skull or pomegranate circle, I see the letters C and D above 3 small round red circles (which I originally associated with eyes/nose of skull). But, I'm not sure either C nor D would mean anything in the Middle East. I'll keep looking for something of more/real substance.

Is there a photo of the other tattoo... the eye?

 

[ifindedout]

Now that I'm viewing the tattoo with this rotation, within the top area of the skull or pomegranate circle, I see the letters C and D above 3 small round red circles (which I originally associated with eyes/nose of skull). But, I'm not sure either C nor D would mean anything in the Middle East. I'll keep looking for something of more/real substance.

To me there are two crossed staves, like seen on the coffin of Tutankhamun (Tutankhamen, King Tut).
Tutankhamun’s canopic coffin | The Past

Is there a photo of the other tattoo... the eye?

Yes, in the Dutch article from the OP upthread.

Edited for alternate spellings of Tutankhamun

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Now that I'm viewing the tattoo with this rotation, within the top area of the skull or pomegranate circle, I see the letters C and D above 3 small round red circles (which I originally associated with eyes/nose of skull). But, I'm not sure either C nor D would mean anything in the Middle East. I'll keep looking for something of more/real substance.

Is there a photo of the other tattoo... the eye?

It reminds me of a firefighter badge which often has the four compartments similar to this part of the tattoo: