Peter R de Vries: Dutch crime journalist 'fighting for his life' after being shot in Amsterdam
Peter R. de Vries was taken to hospital on Tuesday evening after being shot following a regular appearance on a television show.
Wednesday 7 July 2021 07:20, UK
A Dutch crime journalist is fighting for his life after being shot in Amsterdam, the city's mayor has said.
Peter R de Vries is famous in the Netherlands for his work on stories including the 1983 kidnap of beer magnate Freddy Heineken and the disappearance of US teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005.
Dutch police said the 64-year-old was shot on Tuesday evening in Lange Leidsedwarsstraat, a street near a large public square in the capital.
Mr de Vries was earlier in a nearby TV studio for a regular appearance on a current affairs programme.
"Peter R. de Vries is for all of us a national hero, an unusually courageous journalist, tirelessly seeking justice," Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema said at a news conference.
"Today, justice in our country appears a long way off. A brutal, cowardly crime has been committed," he added.
Two suspects have been arrested, "including a possible shooter" stopped in a car about 30 miles (50km) south of the city, said police chief Frank Paauw
A third suspect was detained in Amsterdam.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the shooting was "shocking and incomprehensible" and "an attack on the free journalism that is so essential for our democracy, our constitutional state, our society".
Mr de Vries won a current affairs Emmy in 2008 for his work covering the Holloway case. The teenager disappeared on the tropical island and has never been seen again.
He has been subject to several threats for his work.
In 2013 the man responsible for the kidnap of Mr Heineken, Willem Holleeder, was convicted of making threats against Mr de Vries.
Holleeder is currently serving life behind bars for his part in five murders.
In 2019, a man called Ridouan Taghi made a public statement denying reports he had threatened to have Mr de Vries killed.
Taghi is currently on trial for murder and drug trafficking.
Mr de Vries has been advising a witness known as Nabil B in the case against Taghi and his alleged associates.
Nabil B's previous lawyer was shot dead in the street in Amsterdam in September 2019.