Netherlands pays last respects to reporter murdered in Amsterdam
The public in the Netherlands is saying goodbye to leading crime reporter Peter R de Vries after he died of injuries sustained in a gun attack earlier this month in Amsterdam.
He has been laid in state at the Carre Theatre in Amsterdam on Wednesday and mourners will have the opportunity to pay their last respects until 8 pm (1800 GMT).
Hundreds were already waiting in long queues outside the theatre in the morning.
A private ceremony for family, relatives and friends is to take place on Thursday.
The 64-year-old was shot five times in a street in the middle of Amsterdam after leaving a television studio on July 6. Nine days later, he died from the injuries.
De Vries was a celebrated crime reporter in the Netherlands and regularly appeared in court as a spokesperson for victims or witnesses at trials.
The shooting has been widely attributed to organized crime in the Netherlands.
Two men were arrested hours after the attack, a 35-year-old Polish citizen living in the south-east of the Netherlands and a 21-year-old from Rotterdam.
There are indications that the shooting was related to de Vries’ work.
He was the confidant of the key witness in a major criminal case against a drugs gang. The key witness’ brother and defence lawyer were killed in 2019.
De Vries had been threatened in the past but had declined personal protection.
Source: GNA