Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, one of the Netherlands’ best known journalists, was shot and seriously injured on July 6 evening in a street in downtown Amsterdam minutes after leaving the studios of RTL TV.
He died 9 days later after reportedly being shot five times at close range, including once in the head.
De Vries has been the target of numerous death threats during his long career in connection with his exceptional record of exposing the activities of organised crime in the Netherlands.
The BBC reports that police chased and arrested two suspects on a motorway as they drove from the scene. The men were remanded in custody.
The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, called it a shocking attack on a courageous journalist and on “the free press that is critical to our democracy”.
Reacting on social media, European Commission Vera Jourova called it an attack on freedom of the press and democracy, and said those responsible must be brought to justice.
Peter de Vries has an almost legendary reputation for covering high-profile crimes, including the kidnapping of beer magnate Freddy Heineken in 1983.
The kidnapper, Willem Holleeder, one of the country’s most notorious gangsters, was later convicted of making threats against the journalist, and in 2019 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in five murders.
Dutch reporter shot
AEJ media freedom representative on shooting
Photo by Remy Gieling on Unsplash
