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Dutch journalist shooting an 'attack on our values': EU chief
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This photograph taken on June 23, 2021, shows Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries as he addresses a press conference in Naarden. A well-known Dutch crime reporter was rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds on July 6, 2021, after being attacked in broad daylight in central Amsterdam. Peter R. de Vries, a journalist and TV presenter who regularly speaks on behalf of victims, was shot up to five times including once in the head, according to eyewitnesses. (AFP/Remko de Waal)
E
U chief Charles Michel on Wednesday condemned the shooting of Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, who was fighting for his life after the attack in central Amsterdam.
"This is a crime against journalism and an attack on our values of democracy and rule of law. We will relentlessly continue to defend the freedom of the press," Michel wrote on Twitter.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen offered her "thoughts and solidarity" to de Vries.
"We might disagree with a lot we see in our media but we have to agree that journalists investigating potential abuses of power are not a threat but an asset to our democracies and our societies," she told European lawmakers debating threats to the rule of law in the bloc.
De Vries was shot Tuesday evening in the Dutch capital as he left a television studio after appearing on a talk show.
Police said three people had been arrested, among them the suspected shooter, but gave no details on the possible reasons for the attack.
Eyewitnesses told local media that the 64-year-old celebrity journalist and TV presenter was shot as many as five times, including once in the head.
Dutch MEP Sophie in 't Veld decried the "cowardly" shooting and pointed to a string of deadly attacks against investigative reporters in the 27-nation bloc over the past few years.
Greece was rocked in April by the fatal shooting of crime journalist Giorgos Karaivaz, who was gunned down by attackers on a motorbike outside his home in Athens.
Other high-profile cases include the killing of Maltese anti-graft reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia in a car bombing in 2017 and the fatal 2018 shooting of Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee.
