Murder of Peter R. de Vries

On the evening of 6 July 2021, Dutch investigative journalist and crime reporter Peter R. de Vries was shot in the head after leaving the RTL Boulevard television studio in Amsterdam, where he had appeared as a guest. Several shots were fired at him on the Lange Leidsedwarsstraat, near the Leidseplein, as he walked to his car. He was taken to the VU University Medical Center in critical condition and died of his injuries on 15 July 2021.

De Vries was widely known in the Netherlands as a television personality and crime reporter, gaining national prominence through his program *Peter R. de Vries: Crime Reporter*. Over his career he reported on high-profile cases including the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken, the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, and the murder of Marianne Vaatstra, along with other murder cases, scandals, and wrongful convictions. His account of the Heineken kidnapping investigation was later adapted into the film *Kidnapping Freddy Heineken* (2015). Later in his career he became known for investigating cold cases, including the death of Nicky Verstappen, and for supporting victims' families in court. In 2021 he was supporting crown witness Nabil B. in the Marengo criminal trial; less than two years earlier, B.'s lawyer, Derk Wiersum, had been murdered outside his home in Amsterdam.

Dutch police arrested three suspects on the evening of the shooting. Two were in a car stopped on the A4 motorway near Leidschendam; a third person was released the next day and was no longer considered a suspect. By 15 July 2021, police had identified a 35-year-old Polish man, Kamil Egiert, born in 1986 in Poland and living in Maurik, as the suspected getaway driver, and a 21-year-old man from Rotterdam, Delano Geerman, born 3 September 1999 in Tiel, as the suspected shooter. Geerman had previously been sentenced to juvenile detention in 2017 for street robberies. Dutch media reported that the suspected shooter was a relative of an associate of Ridouan Taghi, a gangster whose prosecution De Vries had been involved in.

The trial against the suspects opened in Amsterdam in June 2022. In June 2024, the Amsterdam Criminal Court sentenced three men to prison terms of up to 28 years for the murder of De Vries: Geerman and Egiert each received 28 years, and Krystian M., described in the ruling as a murder broker, received 26 years and was the only defendant who admitted complicity and apologised to de Vries's relatives. Four other defendants were sentenced to prison terms of up to 14 years for aiding and abetting, while two defendants were acquitted because prosecutors could not prove the separate charge of participating in a criminal organisation.

The shooting drew condemnation from Dutch and European officials. King Willem-Alexander called it an attack on journalism and the rule of law. Prime Minister Mark Rutte described it as an attack on free journalism, and Minister of Justice Ferdinand Grapperhaus said it affects journalists and damages society. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema called it a brutal cowardly crime, and the Dutch Association of Journalists said the attack hits journalism right in the heart. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed condolences and support for Dutch authorities.

De Vries was reported to have declined police protection or private security despite frequent threats, prompting criticism that he could have been better protected. The caretaker Minister of Justice and Security commissioned an independent investigation into his security arrangements. His partner, Tahmina Akefi, said his murder could have been prevented and that the system failed them, and disputed reports that he had declined security.