Violence against Netherlands’ journalists dims a beacon of press freedom
On a small street off Amsterdam’s bustling museum district, there is no indication of the 2021 event seared into the memories of the Dutch press corps – at least not yet. Authorities have plans to build a memorial near the site where crime reporter Peter R. de Vries was shot on July 6 after leaving…
Dutch police detain, forcibly remove journalists covering climate protests
Berlin, February 7, 2023 — Dutch authorities should stop harassing, detaining, and removing journalists from protests, and allow them to cover events of public interest without police interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Since January 21, Dutch police have detained two journalists and forcibly removed another while they reported on climate protests, according…
Dutch intelligence revealed to have surveilled investigative reporter Stella Braam for decades
Berlin, September 12, 2022—Dutch intelligence services should conduct a swift and transparent investigation into the surveillance of investigative reporter Stella Braam, destroy any data collected on her and her sources, and ensure that she will not be targeted in the future, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On August 28, Braam, a reporter with…
CPJ joins statement welcoming Dutch government’s proposed policy changes on journalist safety
On July 1, 2022, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined seven other press freedom organizations in a joint statement welcoming a letter by the Dutch government to Parliament proposing a new policy approach on media freedom and journalist safety. That June 29 letter took into consideration reports and recommendations by domestic and international press and…
‘Obviously very chilling’: Peter R. de Vries killing shows the danger of Dutch crime reporting
The brutal slaying of crime reporter Peter R. de Vries has shocked the Netherlands. Although still one of the least violent countries for journalists in the world, reporters, parliament, and local press freedom groups warn that threats, intimidation, and violence against outlets and individual journalists reporting on organized crime are on the rise. More than 80 percent of Dutch journalists experienced…
Dutch journalist Peter R. de Vries dies after shooting
New York, July 15, 2021 – In response to reports today that Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries died from injuries sustained in a shooting last week, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries was long threatened for his investigative work, and with today’s tragic…
Crime reporter Peter R. de Vries shot in Amsterdam, hospitalized in critical condition
New York, July 6, 2021 – In response to the shooting today of Dutch journalist Peter R. de Vries, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Dutch authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate the shooting of crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, determine if he was targeted for his work, and ensure that…
CPJ calls for modification of Dutch terrorism bill to protect press freedom
Berlin, November 4, 2019 — Dutch lawmakers should amend a bill that could expose journalists to jail time for reporting from terrorist-controlled areas without government permission, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
‘It should not be accepted as normal’: Female journalists on harassment, intimidation in the Netherlands
The Netherlands is generally considered to have a positive press freedom reputation, but when the independent Dutch Association of Journalists released the findings of its survey of over 350 female journalists in May, over half said they had been subjected to intimidation or violence in their work and around 70 percent said these threats were…
CPJ condemns attacks on outlets in the Netherlands
New York, June 26, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned an attack on De Telegraaf, one of the Netherlands’ biggest national newspapers, which came five days after an anti-tank rocket was fired at the offices of the publisher of the weeklies Panorama and Nieuwe Revu, according to news reports.