In a dramatic development just days before two men were due to be sentenced for the gangland murder of Dutch journalist Peter R de Vries (64), a court in Amsterdam has delayed the verdict and decided to reopen the investigation.
After a flurry of legal activity last week, including three new arrests, prosecutors in the case against defendants identified only as Delano G (22) and Kamil E (33) told the court that the new evidence, mostly statements by an anonymous witness, identified only as Witness 5089, had come to light.
The veteran investigative journalist was shot five times in the head in the centre of Amsterdam on July 6th last year. Prosecutors told the judges that Witness 5089 was only willing to speak to detectives in return for a guarantee of safety.
According to Ayse Ҫimen, counsel for Kamil E, the evidence establishes a link between the case and Ridouan Taghi (43), formerly the country’s most wanted criminal, who was extradited from Dubai in 2019 in connection with a string of drugs-related killings.
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The prosecution told the judges it favoured going ahead with the delivery of the verdicts on Thursday, July 14th, as planned. However, when the court decided to add the new evidence to the existing case file rather than start fresh proceedings, a delay became inevitable.
Lawyers for the defendants questioned whether in fact the prosecution knew about Witness 5089 and the new evidence earlier than it was admitting, but said that if it was to be added to the existing case, a substantial adjournment was essential.
Previous court sessions heard that Delano G is believed to have been the gunman in the de Vries killing and Kamil E the getaway driver, although the prosecution contended that the two men had “co-perpetrated the murder” – and asked for life sentences in each case.
The court adjourned the case until after the summer recess, at which point new hearings will be scheduled, probably in October, to discuss the fresh evidence.
A lawyer for the de Vries family, Annemiek van Spanje, said that while they were “looking forward to” the verdict, they understood the reasons for the adjournment. Recent developments had added to their background knowledge of events leading to the journalist’s killing.
Last week, a 27-year-old Polish national, Krystian M, already in jail in the Netherlands, was arrested on suspicion of directing the killing.
Two other arrests were made, one in Spain and the other in the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao. Those detained are believed to have made and circulated video footage of the shooting in order to increase its social media impact.
Meanwhile, a statue of de Vries is planned by Amsterdam city near where he was shot, according to his daughter, Kelly.
