Suspect in Peter R. de Vries murder claims he was pressured into involvement
The man suspected of having acted as an intermediary in the murder of Peter R. de Vries said on Tuesday that he had been put under pressure. “I did not want this, but sent messages under pressure,” said Krystian M. in the court bunker in Amsterdam-Osdorp during the murder trial.
He did not want to explain what that pressure consisted of and what kind of messages he forwarded. “That has to do with my safety,” he said. It concerns “disturbing things” that were allegedly said to him. “I felt like I had no choice. If I could do it again, I would have done it differently.”
The 64-year-old De Vries was shot on July 6, 2021, on Lange Leidsedwarsstraat in the center of Amsterdam. He was followed after he left the television production studio on Leidseplein for his appearance on RTL Boulevard and was shot soon after. He died nine days later from his injuries.
M. told De Vries’ relatives that he was sorry and apologized. He said the victim statement that daughter Kelly and son Royce made last week had moved him. That is why he decided to explain something about his role. However, M. refused to respond to further questions from the court.
After his short statement, M. turned around at the request of De Vries’ relatives, who were sitting at the back of the courtroom. M. took off his hood and looked at them. Shortly afterward, he turned back and pulled the hood back over his head. M. always wears a hood and face mask in the courtroom to avoid being recognized.
The 28-year-old M. previously hinted that he has been under severe pressure. Then, too, he did not want to say from where the threats came.
Investigators speculate that the alleged organized crime leader Ridouan Taghi gave the order for the crime reporter’s murder. Taghi is the primary suspect in a sprawling criminal case about a series of street-level assassinations, attempted killings, and plots to commit murder. The case has been randomly designated as the Marengo procedure.
De Vries was a confidante of Nabil B., the key witness in that case.
Reporting by ANP
