By Canadian Press

Dutch court convicts 3 men of murder in fatal shooting of investigative reporter in 2021

Jun 12, 2024 | 4:45 AM

AMSTERDAM (AP) — A Dutch court on Wednesday convicted three men of murder for their roles in the fatal 2021 shooting of investigative reporter Peter R. de Vries, a brazen attack in downtown Amsterdam that sent a shockwave through the Netherlands.

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

A total of nine men were charged for their alleged roles in the murder. Four other suspects were convicted of complicity in the murder.

Two were acquitted because they were charged only with involvement in a criminal organization, and judges at Amsterdam District Court said prosecutors did not prove the existence of a criminal organization.

De Vries was gunned down on July 5, 2021 on a busy Amsterdam street and died nine days later of his injuries at age 64.

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Prosecutors had sought life sentences for the gunman, getaway driver and organizer of the killing.

In January, prosecutors requested sentences ranging from three to 21 years for the six other suspects in the case.

The slaying sparked outrage, grief and anger throughout the Netherlands. Dutch King Willem-Alexander called the shooting of de Vries “an attack on journalism, the cornerstone of our constitutional state and therefore also an attack on the rule of law.”

De Vries had been an adviser and confidant for a protected witness in the trial of the alleged leader and other members of a crime gang. The witness’ brother and lawyer were both murdered.

The group’s top gangster, Ridouan Taghi, was convicted of his role in five gangland killings and sentenced to life behind bars in February. Judges called him the “undisputed leader” of a “murder organization.”

Taghi has not been charged with involvement in the assassination of De Vries and prosecutors have not charged any suspects with ordering him killed.

“The fact that the person who ordered the killing is not known and is not on trial here naturally hangs like a shadow over this trial,” Annemiek van Spanje, a lawyer for the De Vries family, told The Associated Press earlier this year.

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

Mike Corder, The Associated Press