2 men guilty of lawyer’s murder that shocked the Netherlands

By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Two men have been convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of a Dutch lawyer who represented a witness in a high-profile criminal case against suspected gangland bosses. The slaying of 44-year-old Derk Wiersum shocked the nation and sparked calls for a tougher crackdown on organized crime. He was gunned down in September 2019 outside his home in Amsterdam by a man who then fled in a getaway car that was waiting nearby. Police found DNA traces of both defendants in the getaway car and other vehicles used in the days before the shooting to monitor Wiersum’s movements. Amsterdam District Court said in written judgments Monday that the men shot Wiersum “solely for money.” Defense lawyers had called for acquittals.