This Tuesday, the trial began in Amsterdam against nine suspects who are accused of being involved in the murder of investigative journalist Peter R. Vries (64), known for his reports on the mafia. “You can’t live freely on your knees”. This was the maxim of the Dutch journalist who died nine days after being shot in the center of Amsterdam, on July 6, 2021, as he was leaving the television studio after taking part in a broadcast. He was a well-known organized crime expert in the country and therefore had to participate as an analyst. The attacker fired five times, hitting the veteran journalist in the head, which resulted in death.
After this shooting, the Dutch police arrested two people who had fled (the shooter and his accomplice who picked him up in his car). The weapon was later found in that vehicle. Dutch prosecutors ultimately requested a life sentence for these two prisoners in 2022. When the final verdict was expected, it was postponed as the investigation involved more and more people and this led to more arrests. That trial is expected to conclude by the end of February and the verdict will be announced weeks later.
This murder caused a huge stir in the country The international press began to discover a Holland that was less idyllic than usual. The land of tulips and wooden shoes, known for its extensive feel-good offerings, also keeps its ghosts in the closet. Exactly De Vries immersed himself like no other in the darkest depths of Dutch society at a young age.. In 2019, police told him he was on the target list of the country's most wanted criminal, human trafficker Ridouan Taghiwho was eventually arrested in Dubai that same year.
Vries had advised Nabil B, a protected witness in a trial against Taghi who also witnessed his brother and his lawyer being murdered. Although the journalist was offered the opportunity to be accompanied, he refused on the grounds that it restricted his freedom.
Although the number of suspects in this murder is increasing, prosecutors have not been able to identify any of them as the intellectual author of the crime. “The fact that the identity of the person who ordered the murder is not known and is not involved in this process clearly casts a shadow over this process,” Annemiek van Spanje, the family's lawyer, told AFP .
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said after learning of De Vries' death that it was “almost incomprehensible” and described him as “always committed, stubborn, unafraid of anything or anyone, always looking for the truth and for the defense of justice”. “It is all the more dramatic that he himself has now become the victim of a great injustice.”