Prosecutors: 2 more suspects arrested in de Vries slaying

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Two suspects in the slaying a year ago of Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries have been arrested overseas, prosecutors in the Netherlands announced Tuesday, a day after the suspected “director” of the shocking killing was detained.

The national prosecutor's office said a 27-year-old man was arrested on the former Dutch Caribbean colony of Curaçao on Monday and a 26-year-old man was detained in Spain on the same day. Both men are Dutch nationals who will be flown to the Netherlands to face justice.

The two were detained as part of the investigation into the person or people who ordered the killing of de Vries, who was shot at close range on a busy Amsterdam street on July 6 last year. The campaigning journalist died nine days later at the age of 64.

Prosecutors did not give any detail of the identities of the new suspects or their alleged roles in the slaying.

On Monday, prosecutors announced that they had arrested a 27-year-old Polish man suspected of organizing the hit.

Two other suspects — the alleged gunman and getaway driver — have stood trial in Amsterdam on a murder charge. Judges are due to deliver their verdicts on July 14. Prosecutors sought life sentences for both men.

De Vries made his name as a crime journalist. Later in his career, he campaigned tirelessly to resolve cold cases. Before his shooting, de Vries had been an adviser and confidant for a witness in the trial of the alleged leader and other members of a crime gang that police described as an “oiled killing machine.” The witness’s brother and his lawyer both were murdered.

Prosecutors last month urged judges to convict the suspected gangland leader, Ridouan Taghi, of multiple murders and sentence him to life imprisonment. Verdicts in his trial are expected next year. Taghi hasn’t been charged in de Vries’ killing.

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By MIKE CORDER Associated Press

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