Several shots hit the Dutch reporter Peter R. de Vries almost ten days ago in the middle of Amsterdam. The prominent journalist has long been in the crosshairs of organized crime.
Amsterdam – The prominent Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries (64) died of serious injuries just ten days after he was murdered in Amsterdam. The family announced on Thursday in Amsterdam.
De Vries was gunned down on July 6th. “Peter fought to the end, but he couldn’t win the fight,” said the family’s statement. Colleagues and politicians reacted with dismay to the death of the well-known reporter.
A man had fired multiple shots at the reporter in the street when he was leaving a TV studio. The assassination shocked the Netherlands deeply and was also received with horror internationally. The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, wrote on Twitter: “We will always remember his courage to expose organized crime and shed light on the darkest parts of our societies.”
Two men, a 35-year-old Pole residing in Maurik in the south-east of the country, and a 21-year-old Rotterdam native were arrested shortly after the crime. One of them is said to be the Sagittarius. The police had not yet commented on the background to the crime. However, there are many indications that the murder is related to the reporter’s work.
De Vries was currently the confidante of the key witness in a large criminal case against a drug gang. The brother of the key witness and his defense lawyer had already been murdered in 2019. The reporter had also been threatened. But he had refused personal protection.
Politicians from home and abroad had sharply condemned the act as an attack on the rule of law and journalism. Media associations demanded unreserved clarification.
Leading crime reporter in the Netherlands
De Vries was the leading crime reporter in the Netherlands for almost 30 years and has often appeared as a spokesperson for victims or witnesses at trials. He was a regular guest on TV talk shows. The reporter became internationally known in 1987 with his bestseller about the kidnapping of the brewer Freddy Heineken. In 2008 he won an Emmy Award for reporting on the Natalee Holloway case. The American disappeared in Aruba in 2005 and was believed to have been killed by a Dutchman. dpa
