3 men convicted of murder in fatal shooting of high-profile crime reporter

A Dutch court on Wednesday convicted three men of murder for their roles in the 2021 shooting of investigative reporter Peter R. de Vries at a brazen attack in central Amsterdam which sent a shock wave through the Netherlands.

The shooter, getaway driver and attack organizer were convicted of direct involvement in the murder. The shooter and driver were sentenced to 28 years. The man who organized the murder was sentenced to 26 years and one month.

The three demonstrated “unprecedented cruelty and lack of scruples. Their actions and the recklessness they demonstrated demonstrate that they do not care about human life,” said judge Gert Oldekamp, ​​president of the Amsterdam District Court.

De Vries was shot dead on July 5, 2021, on a busy Amsterdam street, and died nine days later from his injuries, aged 64.

Annemiek van Spanje, a lawyer for the de Vries family, said she was pleased with the decision but that “the bottom line is… it will not bring the father back.”

A total of nine men were charged with involvement in the murder. Three were convicted of complicity and received sentences ranging from 10 to 14 years. A man was convicted of drug possession but was cleared of complicity in the murder. He was sentenced to four weeks.

Two were acquitted because they were accused only of involvement in a criminal organization, and the judges said prosecutors had not proven the existence of such an organization.

Prosecutor’s spokeswoman Justine Asbroek welcomed the convictions.

“We are happy that this criminal case has come to an end – at least for now,” she told reporters in court. “We are happy for the family that there is finally clarity about those involved in the murder.”

The full names of the suspects have not been released in line with Dutch privacy regulations.

Prosecutors were seeking life sentences for the shooter, getaway driver and murder organizer and sentences ranging from three to 21 years for the other six suspects in the case.

Sentences were generally shorter than requested because the court said prosecutors did not prove that the suspects were part of a criminal organization or that some had acted with a terrorist motive.

Asbroek said prosecutors would likely appeal that element of the verdicts.

The murder provoked outrage, sadness and anger across the Netherlands. Dutch King Willem-Alexander called De Vries’ murder “an attack on journalism, the cornerstone of our constitutional state, and therefore also an attack on the rule of law.”

Oldekamp said the murder “sent a shock wave through the Netherlands.”

De Vries was an advisor and confidant to a protected witness in the trial of the alleged leader and other members of a criminal gang. The witness’s brother and lawyer were murdered.

The group’s main gangster, Ridouan Taghi, was convicted for his role in five gangland murders and sentenced to life in prison in February. The judges called him the “undisputed leader” of a “murderous organization.”

Taghi has not been charged with involvement in de Vries’ murder and prosecutors have not charged any suspects with ordering de Vries’ death.

“Whether Taghi was involved in the murder of Peter de Vries and what intention he may have had is not expressly capable of assessment in this criminal case,” Oldekamp said.

Earlier this year, de Vries family lawyer van Spanje lamented the fact that no suspect had been tried for ordering the murder.

“The fact that the person who ordered the murder is not known and is not being tried here naturally hangs like a shadow over this trial,” she told the Associated Press.

The shooter was arrested less than an hour after the attack, along with a Polish man identified only as Kamil E., who was the getaway driver. Prosecutors told Amsterdam District Court judges that the gun used to shoot De Vries was found in his car.