Lawyer says that filming wounded Peter R. de Vries is not a crime

The filming of Peter R. de Vries after he was shot does not make Gerower M.C. an accessory to murder, says the lawyer of the 27-year-old suspect. The Public Prosecution Service has demanded 21 years in jail against him for observing, following, and filming the crime reporter.

The same sentence is demanded for fellow suspect Erickson O. The two were arrested on the Fourth of July in 2022. M.C. was arrested in Spain, and O. was arrested in Curaçao. Both deny having anything to do with the murder. Their defense is aiming for an acquittal. "We see no role in the preparing, execution or handling of the murder," one of the lawyers for the 29-year-old O. said on Wednesday.

Peter R. De Vries was shot on the sixth of July 2021 in the Lange Leidsedwarsstraat in Amsterdam city center. Shortly after the attack, the videos of the wounded de Vries were put on social media. The Public Prosecution Service said that this happened to put fear into society, and the video was a part of the murder. M.C.'s defense believes filming does not contribute to the crime because it had already been committed.

M.C. and O. monitored De Vries before the shooting. They are claimed to have watched the back exit of RTL Boulevard from the McDonald's. The defense claims that O. did not know why they were observing, that there would be a shooting, or that Peter R. de Vries was the target. Or who that even was. "The lower in the pecking order, the less people knew," his lawyer Ruud van Boom said in the court bunker in Amsterdam-Osdorp.

Both suspects deny any connection with the clients or the executors of the attack. They also denied warning the shooter when de Vries left the studio and walked towards the parking garage, where he was shot. "There was a complete lack of collaboration," one of O.'s lawyers concluded.

De Vries died from his wounds nine days later. The attack is said to have been ordered by Ridouan Taghi because De Vries assisted the key witness in the Marengo trial. Taghi has always denied this and will not be prosecuted in this case.

Life sentences have been imposed on three other suspects. It concerns the alleged murder broker, shooter, and driver. The verdict is scheduled for June.