In July last year, the prominent Dutch journalist Peter R. de Vries was shot dead in Amsterdam. In the trial, shortly before the verdict was announced, new evidence against those who commissioned the murder emerged. Now the process has to be reopened because a judge is being replaced.
The trial of the murder of Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries has to be repeated for procedural reasons. That was decided by the criminal court in Amsterdam. Shortly before the planned sentencing, new evidence emerged about the possible clients of the murder. The hearing of evidence was then reopened. But then a judge had to be replaced. According to the procedural rules, the process must therefore be repeated.
The prominent TV reporter was shot dead in the middle of Amsterdam last year when he left a TV studio on the street. He died later from his injuries. The murder had shocked the country badly. The suspected shooter and the driver of the getaway car were quickly arrested. In the process, the public prosecutor had demanded life imprisonment against both of them, the suspects are silent.
In the meantime, three other people have been arrested during the investigation into the clients. There is evidence that notorious criminal Ridouan Taghi’s drug gang is behind the murder. The reporter was the confidant of a key witness who testified against Taghi and 16 accomplices in the extensive criminal trial. The brother and the defense attorney of the key witness had already been murdered.
Peter R. de Vries, became known for his reporting on the kidnapping of the millionaire Freddy Heineken in 1983 and is considered one of the best-known Dutch journalists due to his numerous investigative reports.