The full trial of two men charged with killing Dutch journalist Peter R. de Vries opened in Amsterdam. De Vries, one of the Netherlands' most famous crime reporters, was fatally shot dead in the street last July.
De Vries's appearances on national television earned him a reputation for seeking justiceImage: Remko de Waal/ANP/picture alliance
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Two suspects appeared before a Dutch court on Tuesday over the killing of Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries in a shooting that shocked the Netherlands.
The gun attack on the journalist, who died nine days later, has been linked to his investigation into an organized crime group whose alleged leader has been on trial.
What did the suspects say?
Police arrested a 21-year-old Dutch man and his getaway driver, 35, on July 6, shortly after de Vries was gunned down on an Amsterdam street. They were apprehended on a highway near The Hague, with the weapon used to shoot de Vries in the car.
The Dutchman, Delano G., is accused of shooting De Vries at close range. Speaking on Tuesday, he told the Amsterdam District Court he did not want to say anything. G. has so far refused to answer questions about his alleged involvement in the shooting.
His alleged accomplice, a Polish citizen known as Kamil E., is suspected of having driven the vehicle that was used. He denied a murder charge.
"My role in everything was only that of driver, I knew nothing about the murder and I did not murder anybody," he told judges.
The suspects' lawyers are scheduled to speak at a separate hearing next week and judges are due to deliver their verdicts on July 14.
If convicted, Delano G. faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. He has so far refused to answer questions about his alleged involvement in the shooting.
De Vries's children confront alleged killers
The two accused showed no emotion as the reporter's son and daughter presented victim impact statements during Tuesday's hearing.
"I am looking at you, like you didn't dare to look at my father when you shot him down from behind," Kelly de Vries said to Delano G.
"Why did you shoot him? For money? Because you didn't agree with him?"
De Vries's son Royce spoke of an "unprecedented disrespect for life," and told the suspects "had you asked my father for help, instead of pulling the trigger, he would have done so."
What do we know so far?
In a preliminary hearing last October, the Amsterdam District Court was told the main details of the police investigation. That hearing did not evaluate evidence over the killing.
Experts think that the murder could have been committed by the same organized crime group that de Vries had been investigating, which is currently involved in a 16-person court case.
Prosecutors have branded the gang, whose alleged leader Ridouan Taghi is currently on trial in Amsterdam, a "well-oiled killing machine."
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called de Vries's shooting "an attack on the free journalism that is so essential for democracy, our constititutional state, our society."
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What is De Vries's legacy?
The 64-year-old became a court reporter in the 1980s, going on to dive deep into the world of organized crime in the Netherlands.
He became a household name in the country due to his reporting on the 1983 kidnapping of billionaire beer magnate Freddy Heineken.
De Vries helped solve various "cold cases" and tried to clear the names of people convicted for crimes they did not commit.
His frequent appearances on national television shows garnered him fame and a reputation for seeking justice.
Despite receiving countless death threats, he had turned down police protection.
Violence against journalists 'in the heart of Europe'
The attack on Dutch journalist Peter R. de Vries shocked Europe. Despite the EU's seemingly good reputation with regard to press freedom, journalists sometimes become targets.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Stringer
Amsterdam in shock
Tuesday evening in the middle of the Dutch capital, Amsterdam. Well-known crime reporter Peter R. de Vries leaves a television studio and is shot by unknown assailants. Various indications point to an organized crime syndicate being behind the attack. Two men were taken into custody several hours after the shooting.
Image: Evert Elzinga/ANP/picture alliance
One of the country's best-known crime reporters
De Vries has reported on organized crime in his country for many years. Prior to the shooting, he was working as a personal adviser to a crown witness, who is scheduled to testify against a well-known crime boss. The brother of the crown witness and his lawyer were both murdered several years ago. De Vries is fighting for his life in an Amsterdam hospital.
Image: ANP/imago images
Hope and fear
"Such a thing cannot happen in the middle of Europe!" This was the reaction that many Dutch people had following Tuesday’s shooting. A number of people have since visited the crime scene, leaving flowers and get-well wishes. Sadly, de Vries is not the first journalist to fall victim of a murder plot in the European Union.
Image: Koen Van Weel/dpa/picture alliance
Birthplace of democracy
Greek journalist Giorgos Karaivaz was murdered in southern Athens on April 9. Two masked men riding a motorcycle shot the veteran crime reporter 10 times. An experienced reporter, Karaivaz covered a number of corruption cases involving Greek bureaucrats and organized crime syndicates.
Investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia covered corruption in Malta’s political and business sphere. The 53-year-old was killed after a car bomb was detonated inside her vehicle on October 16, 2017. A man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after confessing to the crime. The accused mastermind, a well-known businessman, is currently on trial for the murder.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/L. Klimkeit
Killed in their own home
Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak was shot dead along with his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, by hired assassins on February 21, 2018. The 28-year-old focused his reporting on organized crime syndicates, tax evasion and corruption among Slovak oligarchs and politicians. Their murders shocked Europe and led to the resignation of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Image: Mikula Martin/dpa/picture alliance
'Free media!'
In 2015, Polish journalist Lukasz Masiak was beaten to death in a bowling club. Masiak had been covering corruption, illegal drug activity and arbitrary arrests. Poland's government remains in focus because of various human rights violations. Poles continue to protest the government's latest measures to undermine a free press.
Image: Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/ZUMAPRESS.com/picture alliance
I am Charlie
In January 2015, 12 people were killed in an attack on the offices of French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo. Hundreds of thousands of people protested globally for freedom of speech and the press using the hashtag "Je suis Charlie." In November of that year, music journalist Guillaume Barreau-Decherf was murdered when terrorists attacked Paris' famous Bataclan music venue.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Turkish journalist attacked in Berlin
Berlin-based Turkish journalist Erk Acarer, a harsh critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was attacked in his apartment by three men on July 7. Writing in Turkish on Twitter, Acarer said: "I was attacked with knives and fists inside my home in Berlin." The three suspects threatened to come back if he did not stop reporting.
Image: twitter/eacarer
Reporters with borders?
It is not always the case that journalists fear for their lives. Increasingly, though, they are being prevented from doing their job — be it by angry protesters, police or security forces. In this picture, French riot police confront a member of the press during a demonstration against the country’s new security bill.
