Fearless Dutch Journalist Who Was Shot In The Head Last Week Dies In Hospital
Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries who was shot in the head in Amsterdam last week has succumbed to his injuries, Dutch media is reporting.
In a statement to RTL, the family said that De Vries had fought till then but had sadly lost his battle. He died in hospital today.
De Vries, 64, was the Netherlands’ most prominent crime journalist and a national figure and was shot in broad daylight.
He rose to fame with his story covering the kidnapping of beer magnate Freddy Heineken in 1983 and has had his own TV show for the last 17 years through which he continued to break stories about the Dutch criminal underworld.
The attack on De Vries is the first attack on a journalist in the Netherlands and has been seen as a national tragedy, with dozens of people laying flowers at the scene of the attack.
Passers-by said it shook their sense of security and raised worries about respect for the rule of law.
At a press conference, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema spoke about a “brutal, cowardly crime”. She called De Vries “a national hero and a tireless journalist.
He stands up for people in need and keeps the investigative authorities on their toes.”
Prime Minister Mark Rutte spoke of “an attack on a courageous journalist. And with that an attack on free journalism, which is so essential for our democracy, for our constitutional state and our society.”
The attack was also condemned by European politicians including Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Council president Charles Michel.
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