The killing sent the Netherlands into shock and sparked wide-spread condemnation and concern for the safety of journalists in Europe
Three men have been jailed for up to 28 years for their roles in the murder of the high-profile investigative journalist Peter R de Vries nearly three years ago.
A Dutch court convicted the three for the 2021 killing of the reporter who had been acting as an adviser to a suspect-turned-state witness in the trial against former Kinahan ally Ridouan Taghi when he was killed.
De Vries, who had previously stated he was on Taghi’s kill list, died of his wounds at age 64 nine days after he was shot as he exited a television studio on a busy Amsterdam street on July 6, 2021.
The killing sent the Netherlands into shock and sparked wide-spread condemnation and concern for the safety of journalists in Europe.
Prosecutors had demanded life sentences for the Dutch man who shot the reporter and for two men from Poland who had been charged with planning the murder and trying to help the shooter escape.
While the full names of the suspects were not released in line with Dutch privacy regulations, the court sentenced the man who shot de Vries and another who drove the getaway car to sentences of 28 years in prison on Wednesday.
Another man who organised the murder was sentenced to 26 years and one month.
A total of nine men were charged in connection with the murder with three convicted of complicity and given sentences ranging from 10 to 14 years of imprisonment.
One man was convicted of drug possession but was cleared of complicity in the murder. He was sentenced to four weeks in jail.
De Vries, a regular talk show guest who was well-known for his TV programmes, in which he often worked with victims’ families pursued unsolved cases, had received threats from the underworld in connection with his work.
The killing of the reporter was described by Dutch King Willem-Alexander as “an attack on journalism, the cornerstone of our constitutional state and therefore also an attack on the rule of law”.
De Vries, whose investigative work around the disappearance of US citizen Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005 had won an International Emmy Award, had been advising state witness’s lawyer, Derk Wiersum, who was shot dead in front of his home in Amsterdam in 2019.
Taghi, who was sentenced to life in prison for murder and drug trafficking earlier this year, had made a public statement at the time denying reports that he had threatened to have de Vries killed.
Prosecutors in the de Vries case said they were convinced that Taghi had ordered the hit but the court said it had not been able to establish a link between the de Vries’s murder and his role as adviser to the state witness.
In February of this year crime boss Taghi, who had previously attended Daniel Kinahan’s wedding in 2017 at the Burj al Arab Hotel, was sentenced to life in prison after one of the largest trials in Dutch criminal history.
Taghi was among three gang members handed life terms, with 14 others sentenced to between 21 months and 23 years in jail after nearly six years of hearings, known as the ‘Marengo’ trial.
Taghi was described as the “undisputed leader" of a “murder organisation.”
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Fellow defendants Saïd R. and Mario R., both went down for life for charges involving six assassinations, four attempted killings, and plans to murder several other people.
Prosecutors had demanded life sentences against three additional suspects who were also convicted, including; Achraf B. who was sentenced to more than 29 years, Mohamed R. who received 27 years and Mao R. who will serve 15 years behind bars.
The other 11 suspects in the case were also convicted. Their sentences ranged from 21 months to more than 23 years.
Taghi was representing himself by the end of the trial as his lawyers had either resigned or been arrested. Taghi had said he would not attend the reading of the verdict on the final day.
Eight suspects did attend the ruling - key witness Nabil B. Mao R. Arthur M. Waild M., Mohamed M. Zaki R., Charif el A., and Ricardo O.
The court convicted Taghi in five of the murders.
“He decided who would be killed and spared no one,” the judge said. “The amount of suffering Taghi caused to the victims and their loved ones is barely imaginable.”
The judges also ruled that Taghi had used extreme violence to intimidate enemies and potential police informants.
“By doing so he prevented people from cooperating with the police. Such terror has a disruptive effect on society,” the judge said.
Three murders, all related to suspected gang member Nabil B, who handed himself in to police and agreed to be a main witness, are the subject of separate court proceedings.
Nabil B’s brother was killed in 2018. His lawyer, Derk Wiersum, was shot dead outside his home in Amsterdam the following year.
In July 2021, de Vries, who had been acting as Nabil B’s confidant, was shot in the street five times as he walked to his car from a television studio.
Murder targets were referred to as "dogs" that had to "sleep".
In most cases, according to the prosecution, the motive for the murders was based on the saying: “Whoever talks, goes”.
The boss of the so-called ‘Maroc Mafia' was arrested in Dubai and extradited back to The Netherlands in 2019.
Taghi had denied all charges in the case, saying the money spent on a “sham trial” should have been spent instead on “employing more teachers and police and health care,” reportedly.
