“Peter fought to the end, but he couldn’t win the battle. Dutch criminal journalist Peter Rudolf De Vries, seriously wounded by gunshot wounds on July 6 in Amsterdam, died of his injuries, according to a statement from his family published by Dutch media RTL. “He died surrounded by those who love him,” said relatives of the journalist, who was 64 years old.
Peter R. De Vries had been in hospital since the life-death attack, where he was evacuated after being shot in the head, in a street in the city center of the Dutch capital, then that it was still daylight. He had just left a television studio after a talk show he appeared in as a guest. Witnesses heard five gunshots, NOS state television reported at the time.
A personality in the Netherlands
Two suspects briefly appeared in Dutch courts on Friday. The investigating judge extended by two weeks the pre-trial detention of the two men, a 35-year-old Polish national and a 21-year-old resident of Rotterdam.
The journalist and TV presenter was a personality known in the Netherlands for his role in several criminal cases. He has appeared regularly as a spokesperson for victims or in the close circle of key witnesses. “Peter lived by his belief: ‘On your knees it is not possible to be free,’ his family and partner said in a joint statement. We are immensely proud of him and at the same time inconsolable. “
“An indescribable loss”
After the attack, Peter R. De Vries was hailed as a “national hero”, he who was a staunch defender of justice. He first rose to prominence for his reporting on the kidnapping of beer baron Freddy Heineken in the 1980s. “It’s an indescribable loss,” the production company RTL Netherlands said in a statement. Fremantle Nederland and the collaborators of “RTL Boulevard”, a program in which the journalist regularly appeared as a guest, as was the case on the day of the attack. Our thoughts are first and foremost with Peter’s family, his partner and all those close to him. “