Crime reporter Peter R. de Vries (64) shot on Lange Leidsedwarsstraat

Peter R. de Vries was shot on Tuesday evening, 6 July 2021, at around 7:30 p.m. in the Lange Leidsedwarsstraat in the centre of Amsterdam, shortly after leaving the RTL Boulevard studio and while walking to the parking garage where his car was parked. A gunman waited for him on the street and shot him at close range. De Vries was critically injured and taken to hospital, but died nine days later, on 15 July 2021, at the age of 64. According to the court, and later also the court of appeal, the murder was not a spontaneous act, but a carefully prepared contract killing. In the period before the attack, the area around the RTL Boulevard studio was scouted, De Vries’s walking route after the broadcast was observed, weapons were arranged, and a stolen car with false number plates was used as the getaway car. According to the court of appeal, the man who fired the shots was Delano G.; he was brought to Amsterdam by Kamil E., who supported him, gave instructions and drove the getaway car. Krystian M. was seen as the organiser: according to the court of appeal, he accepted the assignment to have Peter R. de Vries murdered, involved others and directed the execution of the killing. The suspected motive is linked to the Marengo trial, in which Peter R. de Vries acted as a confidant of key witness Nabil B., who had given incriminating statements against Ridouan Taghi and other suspects connected to organised crime. The murder of De Vries is often seen in the same violent context as the earlier murders of Nabil B.’s brother and lawyer Derk Wiersum, although in the criminal case against the direct perpetrators it was not proven that the order came directly from Taghi. On 12 June 2024, the Amsterdam District Court sentenced the main suspects to heavy prison terms: Delano G. and Kamil E. each received 28 years in prison, while Krystian M. received 26 years and 1 month. On appeal, the Public Prosecution Service again demanded life sentences for the main suspects, but the Amsterdam Court of Appeal did not follow that demand. On 11 December 2025, Delano G. and Kamil E. were each sentenced on appeal to 27.5 years in prison, while Krystian M. again received 26 years and 1 month. Another suspect, Konrad W., who was involved in supplying the weapons, received 10 years in prison. The latest legal status is therefore that the direct shooter, the getaway driver and the organiser of the murder have been convicted on appeal and sentenced to very long prison terms, but not to life imprisonment. The murder of Peter R. de Vries is seen not only as an attack on a well-known crime reporter, but also as an attack on the rule of law, because he played an important role in a major criminal case against organised crime.