Why was Peter R. de Vries not secured?

The Public Prosecution Service does not want to say whether crime journalist Peter R. de Vries, who was shot last night in Amsterdam, was secured. Colleagues and also lawyers say that he himself did not want security, despite previous threats. A choice of his own because he did not want to be restricted in his freedom.

For example, a local resident told the NOS Radio 1 Journaal that he saw De Vries walking on the Lange Leidsedwarsstraat in Amsterdam almost every evening around 7.30 pm. "If you're looking for him, he's not very hard to find. That he might be protected invisibly is completely untrue. I often see him walking around and then you don't see anyone walking around or following him in the far distance."

According to justice reporter Remco Andringa of the NOS, many people who know him say that he is not protected. "He doesn't want that himself, even though he knows that it involves risks." He did receive occasional warnings from the police that people wanted to harm him.

"Then it annoyed him that he had been told that, but received zero information, so that he didn't really know where he stood. So he chose this, to go through life without security."

According to Jan Struijs, chairman of the Dutch Police Association, another reason to live without security is that it is very important for De Vries that he can go where he wants. According to Struijs, security is "a major obstacle to the way in which he can carry out his work."

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He believes in his own strength, but unfortunately that turned out differently yesterday.

The Dutch Association of Journalists has also discussed security with him. "He has always said to us: I appreciate your care, but I'll take care of it myself. I'll ring the bell if necessary," says general secretary Thomas Bruning, who calls it typical of his approach. "He believes in his own strength, but unfortunately that turned out differently yesterday."

Could he not have been forced? Not according to Struys. "No, you can never completely enforce that if someone doesn't want it." Frans Knüppe, the dean of lawyers, also calls it difficult to force someone. "I have to respect everyone's free space."

Safe everywhere
"Peter R. de Vries does not intend to organize his life in such a way that he always has to look over his shoulder to see if someone is coming after him," says Peter Wiegmink, who became friends with De Vries when he became involved in the cold case case of De Vries. the Posbank murder. He is the brother of the victim in that case. He sometimes came to De Vries's house and asked him if he felt safe there. "I feel safe everywhere," De Vries told him at the time.

"On bended knee is no way to be free", said Peter R. de Vries in 2016 at the presentation of the Colorful Top 100. "That means that we are not subordinate to anyone, that means that no one can dominate us and that means that we are never 'ever never' anyone's slave." That text is literally made for him, he added while showing the tattoo on his right lower leg to the public.