Amsterdam
Nine men on trial for murder of crime reporter
Two Dutch police officers enter the high-security court building. photo
© Peter Dejong/AP/dpa
He was gunned down in the middle of Amsterdam. The murder of Peter R. de Vries shocked the Netherlands. The trial against the suspects is taking place under strict security precautions.
In the case of the slain Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, the murder trial against nine suspects has begun. In the strictly guarded high security court in In Amsterdam, the defendants have to answer for murder or aiding and abetting murder.
The indictment also accuses seven of them of forming a criminal organization with terrorist intent. The murder is said to be the work of a notorious drug gang. The alleged perpetrator and the driver of the getaway car are in court for the second time in the case. Her trial had to be repeated for procedural reasons.
The prominent TV reporter was gunned down in public in the middle of Amsterdam in the summer of 2021 at the age of 64. He later died from his serious injuries. The crime shocked the country badly. Immediately afterwards, two main suspects were arrested.
Multiple murders
There are indications that notorious criminal Ridouan Taghi’s drug gang may be responsible for the murder. De Vries was a confidant of a key witness who testified in the extensive criminal trial against Taghi and his accomplices. The key witness’s brother and defense attorney had previously been murdered.
Seven other men were arrested in the course of the investigation into the clients. But there is not enough evidence against the Taghi gang.
Repeating the process
In 2022, the public prosecutor’s office had already demanded life imprisonment against the suspected shooter and the driver of the getaway car. Sentencing was then suspended as new evidence emerged. Then the court decided to repeat the trial after a judge moved abroad.
The alleged organizer of the murder and two men who are said to have filmed the crime and distributed the images on the Internet are now also indicted. According to the prosecution, this was intended to increase the shock in society. A verdict is expected in June.