Dutch investigative journalist Peter de Vries, who was shot a week ago on a street in Amsterdam, died in hospital. This was announced by RTL television, for which he worked.
“Peter fought to the end, but he was not able to win this battle,” the family said in a statement, according to Dutch television RTL. “Peter lived by his conviction: If a person kneels, he cannot be free. We are incredibly proud of him and at the same time we are desperate for grief,” the statement continues.
Police detained a car with two suspects after the crime. The men arrested are 35-year-old Pole Kamil E., who lives with his pregnant wife and children in Dutch in the city of Maurik and, according to RTL television, is being prosecuted at home in Poland for theft and robbery. Twenty-one-year-old Delano G. was sitting in the car, whom the media refer to as “Rotterdam residents”. Under Dutch law, journalists are not allowed to publish the full names of suspects.
It is not clear what the couple has to do with the cases that de Vries has dealt with as an investigative journalist. Some media outlets, including RTL television, suggest that drug dealer Ridouan Taghi may be behind the murder or its order. He is in custody on charges of drug trafficking and several murders.
According to Reuters, De Vries was a celebrity in the Netherlands, often appeared on television and was considered an expert with resources among criminals and law enforcement. He became famous for investigating the circumstances of the 1983 abduction of beer mogul Freddy Heineken, and the kidnapper Willem Holledeer was convicted in 2013 of threats against the investigative journalist. De Vries again received an international Emmy Award for his work on the case of the disappearance of American Natalee Holloway on the island of Aruba in 2008.
The shooting at de Vries was condemned by Dutch and world politicians as an attack on democracy and freedom of speech.
“It is an attack on journalism, the cornerstone of our rule of law,” said King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. “And as such, it is an attack on our constitutional order,” he added.
“Journalists working on possible abuses of power are not a threat, but a benefit to our democracies and societies. Our hearts and solidarity belong to journalists Peter de Vries,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week.
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