Group suspected of killing Dutch crime reporter also wanted to kidnap PM Mark Rutte, witness says

By Caitlin Danaher and Rose Roobeek, CNN

(CNN) — The group suspected of murdering a crime reporter in the Netherlands in 2021 also wanted to kidnap Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, according to a witness in the case.

The protected witness, known to Dutch prosecutors only as “5089,” was told by a lead suspect that the group was so powerful, “they even want to kidnap the prime minister,” a spokesperson for the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service in Amsterdam told CNN Friday.

Peter R. de Vries, an award-winning Dutch journalist, was gunned down on a busy street in central Amsterdam in July 2021, in a case that rocked the Netherlands. The journalist was shot shortly after leaving the RTL TV studios, where he frequently appeared on air as a criminal expert. He died in hospital nine days later.

The Amsterdam-based newspaper Het Parool was the first to report on the witness’ comments regarding the potential threat to outgoing Prime Minister Rutte.

The witness was told the information by a 28-year-old man known as “Krystian M.,” who is suspected of coordinating the fatal attack against de Vries and directing the other perpetrators, the prosecution service said.

The protected witness made the comments during an interrogation by the investigative judge in December 2022, according to the prosecution service. “In the investigations into the death of De Vries, the statements of this witness have only been used and further investigated where necessary regarding the murder of De Vries,” the prosecution service told CNN.

De Vries was known for his investigative work exposing the criminal underworld. He was a household name in the Netherlands, renowned for pursuing cold cases, exposing miscarriages of justice and hosting his own televised investigative show for nearly two decades. He had regularly received death threats in connection with several cases.

In October 2021, CNN affiliate RTL Netherlands reported that Dutch police stepped up Rutte’s security due to fears he may be targeted for kidnapping or an attack by drug gangs, according to local media reports. The threat against Rutte followed the murder of de Vries, who was linked to a major organized crime trial, RTL Netherlands reported.

The trial against nine suspects in the murder of de Vries will start on January 23, according to the prosecution service. The prosecution will present its sentencing demand on January 30 and 31.

The court is expected to deliver its verdict in June 2024. The nine suspects, of Polish and Antillean descent, are between 24 and 37 years old, the prosecution service said.

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CNN’s Mick Krever and Eliza Mackintosh contributed reporting.