BFive shots shocked the country: The famous and respected investigative journalist Peter R. De Vries was shot and killed in the center of Amsterdam at 7:30 pm on Tuesday night. Witnesses immediately called the police, and the 64-year-old man was rescued at the scene and taken to the hospital; he was fighting for his life on Wednesday morning. The police immediately launched a search and sealed off parts of the city center. Soon after, the three were arrested. Amsterdam police said: “The gunman may be one of these suspects.”
On Wednesday, she announced that the two men were very suspicious. The story is about a 35-year-old Polish citizen from the town of Maurik in southeastern Poland and a 21-year-old man from Rotterdam. The third man arrested has been released. It has nothing to do with behavior. Computers and ammunition were found during house searches in Maurik, Rotterdam and Thiel. The two suspects will be brought before the judge on Friday. They were arrested only a few hours after the attack on Highway 4 near Leidschendam, about 60 kilometers from Amsterdam.
Judging from all the current information on the case, the assassination attempt should be related to The Marengo trial is the largest criminal trial in the NetherlandsThis also happened in Amsterdam. The journalist de Vries, who specializes in criminal cases and is widely known for appearing on television several times, is an adviser to Nabil B., a key witness in the proceedings. Nabil B. It targeted the criminal network around Ridouan Taghi, and the authorities listed him as the most dangerous criminal in the country. It is said that several contract killings were carried out on behalf of Taghi, including the brother of the key witness in March 2018 and his lawyer Derk Wiersum in September 2019. The most recent case is the third attack on residents near Nabil B.
That night, De Vries appeared on the “RTL Boulevard” show. When he was attacked on Lange Leidsedwarsstraat, he was on his way back from the studio to the nearby parking lot. According to witness testimony, a man nearby fired five shots at the reporter; these bullets are said to have hit him in the head. Soon after, photos and videos circulated on social media showing the victim falling to the ground in a pool of blood.
Read the report on the Marengo process and the context of organized crime in the Netherlands here.
The police immediately began searching for the suspect. They described the suspect as: “Male, light-skinned, petite, dark green jacket and black hat”. The Amsterdam police chief Frank Paauw announced at a late night press conference that an escaped car was parked on Highway 4 and two suspects were arrested: “Among them the gunman.” The third suspect was arrested. People have been arrested elsewhere. Been to Amsterdam. The police appealed to the public to share photos and videos with them instead of posting them on social media. That night, heavily armed police also protected the house of Breda lawyer Peter Shuten. Schouten is an attorney for Nabil B. The streets around his house have been blocked.
The mayor of Amsterdam Femke Halsema spoke of “cruel and cowardly crimes” in a press conference with the chief of police. She called De Vries a “national hero and tireless journalist”: “He stood up for the needy, the parents of murdered children, or the wrongly convicted. It is far from finished. Today, even in our country. , Justice seems to have a long way to go.”
“Attack the rule of law”
Prime Minister Mark Rutte Speaking of “attacks on brave reporters”. This is an attack on “free press, which is very important for our democracy, the rule of law, and society.” Rutte and Attorney General Ferd Grapperhaus met with an emergency meeting of the country’s counter-terrorism department.
During his state visit to Berlin, King William-Alexander also talked about “attacks on the rule of law.” The king said he was standing aside with his colleagues from crime reporters. “Peter R. de Vries is of course a special reporter. This is an attack on journalism. This is the cornerstone of our rule of law. Then comes an attack on the rule of law.”
De Vries refused permanent police protection, even though he himself announced in May 2019 that he was on the death list of Ridouan Taghi. Soon after, Taji reportedly assured him in a letter that he had nothing to fear. That was when de Vries decided to support Nabil B. In an interview last month, the reporter said that he was not afraid, but he was aware of the danger: “The brother of the main witness Nabil B. and his former lawyer were murdered. , So you don’t have to hysterically think that things are likely to happen.” Risk is part of his job.