July 6, 2021. Dutch journalist Peter R. De Vries has just left RTL TV studio, where he was invited to comment on the case of Seif Ahmed, a hairdresser who was fatally wounded in his car in 2019 in the Netherlands. when he was shot in the head.
Who is Peter R. De Vries?
Peter Rudolph de Vries was born on November 14, 1956 in Aalsmeer, a small town less than 30 kilometers from Amsterdam. Today, at the age of 64, he is a renowned journalist in the Netherlands for his investigations of crimes and organized crime issues, he has already acted as an informer in media cases in the country, such as the Marengo case, which dealt with murder and drug trafficking. …
De Vries began gaining fame in 1983, when he worked at De Telegraaf, where he wrote about the kidnapping of Freddie Heineken, chairman of the board of directors of the famous Heineken brewery. This story later served as the motto for The Abduction of Alfred Heineken from the perspective and thought of Kor Van Hout, one of the kidnappers, and the work was based on interviews with Van Hout and Willem Hollider. another predator.
The book became best-seller in the Netherlands and was adapted for cinema in 2015 with The Kidnapping of Freddy Heineken starring Anthony Hopkins.
Later, the Dutch journalist even had his own television program, Peter R. de Vries: The Crime Reporter, which aired for 17 years, from 1995 to 2012, where he covered several criminal cases, including an episode dedicated to the disappearance American teenage girl Natalie Holloway while on vacation in Aruba, a Dutch Caribbean island, in 2005, for which she received an Emmy.
In 2005, he even founded a political party called the Party for Justice, Action and Progress, which did not last long and was eventually disbanded without even gaining representation in parliament.
Between the investigations into the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy, trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and the investigations mentioned above, De Vries added enemies and death threats. The first came from Hollider while investigating Freddy Heineken’s kidnapping, but those who put him under police protection arrived in 2019 when it was revealed that he had been blacklisted by drug dealer and Dutch mafia leader Riduan Tagi (who is on the run). ).
Who shot De Vries (and why)?
As a result of this case, three people have already been detained. Little is known about the two suspects being detained in a car running away on the highway, and that they are both Poles. A third man, 18 years old, was released after he ceased being a suspect.
On the night that five shots were fired at Peter R. De Vries, Dutch police indicated that they were looking for a skinny Caucasian man wearing a dark green camouflage coat and black cap, who is believed to be the culprit.
About the motives that could lead to the attempted murder, nothing is known.
What is the state of health of the journalist at the moment?
According to the latest official information, De Vries is hospitalized, in serious condition and struggling to stay alive.
Is the Netherlands a safe country for journalism?
We are the last ratings Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked the Netherlands sixth out of 180 countries behind Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Costa Rica.
Already in the 2021 Global Peace Index rating countries of the world and where Portugal is in fourth place, the Netherlands occupies 21 positions.
On Wednesday, King Willem-Alexander paid tribute to him and called the attack “an attack on democracy” that left him in deep shock. “This is an attack on journalism, a pillar of the rule of law,” he said. monarch to reporters.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the attack “shocking and incomprehensible.” “It was an attack on a brave journalist, as well as an attack on press freedom so important to our democracy,” he said, saying that he was praying that De Vries would survive.
The mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, even declared the journalist “a national hero for all of us,” describing him as “rare and courageous, tireless in his search for justice.”
But the attack also sparked a reaction outside the Netherlands.
“This is a crime against journalism and an attack on our democratic values (…) We will continue to tirelessly defend press freedom,” said Charles Michel, President of the European Council, on Twitter.
According to Tom Gibson, EU spokesman for the Committee to Protect Journalists, a US non-governmental organization dedicated to press freedom, “EU journalists should be able to investigate crime and corruption without fear for their safety.”
