The court in Amsterdam will conduct a new investigation into the murder of crime reporter Peter R. de Vries. As a result, the planned verdict against the suspected perpetrators of the murder, the Pole Kamil E. and the Dutchman Delano G., is postponed. Life sentences have been demanded against both.
The court’s decision on Monday is linked to a series of new statements made by a Polish witness who knows the suspects. These are very detailed statements that show, among other things, that Kamil E. would first commit the murder alone, but later did not want to. That is why Delano G. was brought in as a shooter, according to the witness.
Kamil E.’s lawyers argued Monday that their client had been under pressure. E., who in treatment has always denied that he knew about the assassination attempt, had to drive the getaway car or else he would be killed himself. The two suspects have been offered 150,000 euros for the murder. They were arrested within an hour of the fatal shots on Tuesday evening, July 6, 2021.
Client
The new witness points to Ridouan Taghi as the person responsible for the murder. According to the witness, Peter de Vries had to be murdered because of his role as confidential counselor of crown witness Nabil B.
Taghi denies that he gave the murder order. In addition to Delano G. and Kamil E., the new witness, nicknamed Eddy by the police, explains about another Polish man who allegedly directed the two executors. It concerns Krystian M., who was recently arrested in his cell on the basis of this statement. A telephone that was found in the getaway car shows that Krystian M. had contact with the two executors around the assassination attempt. Among other things, a photo of Peter R. de Vries was sent.
Krystian M. is also suspected of plotting a serious assault on an ex-brother-in-law of Ridouan Taghi because of a family conflict. According to the police, messages from a telephone that was found at Krystian M. indicate that he received instructions from Joauad F., a cousin of Ridouan Taghi. Another cousin is also suspected of being involved in this abuse: the former lawyer Youssef, who regularly visited Taghi in the Extra Secure Institution in Vught from March 2021.
Also read: Arrested Pole Krystian M. linked to Ridouan Taghi
Filming the attack
In addition, two more people were arrested abroad last week who are suspected of filming the assassination attempt on Peter R. de Vries. Now that the court has postponed the sentence, the question is whether these new suspects will be tried in the same case or whether they will be prosecuted separately. It is not clear what the court thinks about this. Such questions will be discussed in a session scheduled for this fall.
The Public Prosecution Service wants the three new suspects to be prosecuted for their role in a separate lawsuit. If that happens, the attorneys for Kamil E. and Delano G. will at least want to be kept informed about that investigation because information in that case may also be relevant to their clients.