A Dutch journalist was targeted by a Molotov cocktail attack on the night of Wednesday 18 to Thursday 19 August in Groningen (north), a month after the murder of investigative journalist Peter R. de Vries, which sparked a wave of emotion in the Netherlands.
See also Netherlands: journalist shot dead in Amsterdam
One or more incendiary devices were thrown through the window of the home of journalist Willem Groeneveld, who managed with his partner to extinguish the fire, police said.
An investigation was opened and the police refused to speculate on the cause of the attack, which left no people injured.
Second attack on a journalist
Willem Groeneveld, who writes for “
Sikkom
”, the city of Groningen blog, has often been the victim of intimidation.
Two years ago, stones were thrown through the windows of the journalist's home after he wrote a series of articles denouncing slum owners, Dutch public broadcaster NOS reported.
Last week, he said in an interview with Villamedia, a journalism website, that he "
looked over his shoulder more often as he walked around town
."
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"
After the attempted assassination of Peter R. de Vries, this is the second attack on a Dutch journalist in a short time,
" worried Thomas Bruning, secretary general of the Association of Dutch Journalists (NVJ), quoted by the Dutch news agency ANP. Peter R. de Vries, a criminal journalist, died on July 15 after being shot and wounded on July 6 in Amsterdam. A wave of emotion had engulfed the country following the murder of this "
national hero
", regularly appeared as a spokesperson for victims or in the close circle of key witnesses.