A Dutch court on Wednesday handed down lengthy jail sentences to three men for the murder of high-profile crime journalist Peter R. de Vries, a killing that shocked the country.
De Vries was gunned down in broad daylight on a busy Amsterdam street in July 2021, sparking an outpouring of grief and concern over the influence of organised crime in the Netherlands.
The high-security court in Amsterdam said the brazen murder of the 64-year-old was a "liquidation" with "absolute disregard for the life of a fellow human being."
Prosecutors had sought life sentences for the three main suspects, believing the hit to be linked to De Vries's role as advisor to a witness against drug kingpin Ridouan Taghi.
But the court ruled that since Taghi was not part of the trial, a definite link could not be established between that case, known as Marengo, and the De Vries murder trial.
"Contrary to what prosecutors have argued, the court can not determine on the basis of the file that Peter R. de Vries was murdered because of his role as advisor and confidante of the key witness in the Marengo trial," the court said.
The court jailed both the shooter, identified as 24-year-old Dutchman Delano G. and the driver of the getaway car, 38-year-old Polish man Kamil E., to 28 years behind bars.
The third man, Krystian M., 29, considered the organiser of the hit, "should be punished more severely than that of the two executors," the court said.
They imposed a sentence of 30 years on him but this was reduced to 26 years and one month because he had already served four years in jail.
The court said there was "no room for life sentences... because it concerns a single murder and they have not previously been convicted for similar crimes."
Three other men received sentences of between 10 to 14 years for complicity in the murder.
Two others suspected of participating in a criminal group were acquitted. A ninth man on trial was acquitted of complicity but convicted on drug possession charges.
A video showing De Vries seriously injured circulated after the attack. Partly because of this, prosecutors charged the suspects with "murder with terrorist intent."
However the court ruled that although the Netherlands was "seriously shocked by the murder... that does not mean that there is also a terrorist aim."
De Vries first rose to prominence as an intrepid crime reporter for the daily newspaper De Telegraaf -- writing a best-selling book about the 1980s kidnapping of beer millionaire Freddy Heineken.
The book was later turned into a 2015 movie "Kidnapping Freddy Heineken", starring Anthony Hopkins in the title role.
The celebrity journalist then moved into television, where he ran his own crime programme called "Peter R. de Vries, Crime Reporter".
De Vries garnered international renown in 2008 after winning an Emmy Award for his coverage of the disappearance of US citizen Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island of Aruba.
Thousands of mourners filed past his coffin in Amsterdam following his killing, paying respect to a journalist described as a national hero.
From 2020, he was an advisor and confidant of Nabil B., the main prosecution witness in the case against Taghi, described as the country's most wanted criminal.
De Vries revealed in 2019 that authorities had informed him he was on a hit-list drawn up by Taghi, who in February received a life sentence over a series of murders committed by his gang.
Nabil B.'s brother Reduan was killed in 2018, and his lawyer Derk Wiersum was shot dead in 2019.
Together with the murder of De Vries, the three killings together sparked warnings that the country was becoming a "narco-state".
The threat touched the top levels of Dutch society.
Crown Princess Amalia, the daughter of King Willem-Alexander, was forced to move to Spain for her studies due to fears of an attack from an organised crime group.
Both the royal and Prime Minister Mark Rutte were mentioned in messages by organised crime groups, raising fears of plans to kidnap or attack them.
