The prominent Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries (64) died of serious injuries less than ten days after the attack on him in Amsterdam. The family announced this yesterday 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.
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. Two men, a 35-year-old Pole who lived 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 Sagittarius. The police had not yet commented on the background to the crime. However, there is much evidence that the murder is related to his 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.
