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After the Amsterdam shooting, Dutch crime reporter De Vries is killed

Peter R. de Vries was a well-known Dutch journalist who bravely reported on the violence underworld in the Netherlands and campaigned for cold cases to be given new life. He was shot last week. His family announced Thursday that he had died.

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After the Amsterdam shooting, Dutch crime reporter De Vries is killed

The family sent a statement to Dutch media stating that Peter fought until the end but couldn't win the battle.

Although the motive behind De Vries' shooting is still unknown, the attack on a Amsterdam street on July 6th had all the hallmarks that gangland hits were occurring with increasing frequency in the Dutch underground. The journalist covered the story.

Two suspects were detained. The Dutch police stated that the suspect shooter was a 21-year old Dutchman. A 35-year old Polish man who lives in the Netherlands was also arrested. After De Vries had been wounded, they were both arrested.

De Vries rose quickly from a cub reporter to be the most well-known journalist in the Netherlands. He was a strong supporter of missing and dying children's families, a campaigner against injustice, and a thorn in gangsters' side.

The family statement stated that Peter has lived by his conviction. "On bended knee is not a way to be free," Peter said. "We are inconsolable and unbelievably proud of him."

De Vries was fighting for his life at an Amsterdam hospital ever since the attack. De Vries died in the arms of his loved ones. The statement requested privacy to allow De Vries' partner and family "to grieve in peace."

After De Vries' regular appearance on a current affairs TV show, the shooting took place. De Vries had been a confidant and adviser to the accused leader and others in the trial of the other members of a criminal gang police called an "oiled killing machine".

Ridouan Taghi (a suspected leader of gangland gangs) was extradited from Dubai to the Netherlands in 2019. Along with 16 others, he remains in jail.

The tributes to De Vries were led by Mark Rutte, the Caretaker Prime Minister.

"Peter R. de Vries was dedicated, tenacious and afraid of no one. Rutte tweeted that he was always seeking out the truth and fighting for justice. Rutte tweeted, "And that makes the situation all the more dramatic because he has now fallen prey to a great injustice."

Last week, Willem Alexander, Dutch King of Holland, called De Vries' shooting "an attack upon journalism, the cornerstone and foundation of our constitution state and therefore also an assault on the rule of the law."

In Europe , where journalists are rarely murdered, the slaying also was a shocker. Recent killings of journalists in Malta and Slovakia have raised concerns about the safety of journalists in democratic countries.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, expressed her sadness in a tweet. I would like to send my condolences and sympathies to his loved ones.

She said, "Investigative journalists play a vital role in our democracy." We must do all we can to ensure their safety.

In 2008, De Vries was awarded an International Emmy for his television program about Natalee Holloway, a U.S. teenage girl who disappeared while on vacation in Aruba (the Dutch Caribbean island).

De Vries was acting as a spokesperson for the family, 11-year old boy who had been abused and murdered in 1998. He appealed to the public for information about the whereabouts a suspect identified through a DNA probe.

De Vries stated, "I can't bear the thought that he won’t be arrested," during a call for assistance at a televised conference. "I will not rest until it happens."

A few weeks later, the suspect was taken into custody in Spain. He was convicted last year for the death of Nicky Verstappen.

De Vries' comments about Nicky's murder suspect sum up the tenacity of his career, which saw him reporting on some of the most notorious crimes in the Netherlands, such as the kidnapping and kidnapping Freddy Heineken, in 1983.

De Vries acted on a tip and tracked down the Paraguay kidnapper in 1994.

Cor van Hout was a friend of his, and he was later killed in Amsterdam. Willem Holleeder was van Hout’s brother-in law and was convicted of inciting van Hout's murders. Holleeder was sentenced for life imprisonment.

De Vries was also known for her persistent campaigning to uncover the truth about the 1994 murder of Christel Ambrosius, a 23-year old woman. De Vries denied that the two men who were found responsible for her death were guilty and sentenced them to 10 years in prison.

In 2002, they were acquitted. In 2008, another man was convicted for Ambrosius’ murder.

Justice Minister Ferd Grapphaus released a statement describing De Vries as "a brave man who lived with no compromises." He refused to be intimidated or manipulated by criminals.

Grapperhaus stated that he had "tracked down injustice throughout his life." He made a significant contribution to the democratic state by doing this. He was a part of its foundation."

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