A Dutch court on Wednesday handed down long jail sentences to three men for the assassination of high-profile crime journalist Peter R. de Vries, a killing that shocked the country.

Two men received sentences of 28 years for shooting De Vries and driving the getaway car. Another got 26 years for his role in planning the murder.

De Vries was gunned down in broad daylight on a busy Amsterdam street in July 2021, sparking an outpouring of grief.

Prosecutors had demanded life sentences for the trio, identified as Dutchman Delano G., Kamil E. from Poland, and Krystian M.

The court convicted three other men for complicity in the murder, handing them sentences between 10 to 14 years.

Two men suspected of participating in a criminal group were acquitted. A ninth man on trial was acquitted of complicity but convicted on drug possession charges.

Given the sensitivity of the case, hearings took place in an extra high-security "bunker" at the court in Amsterdam.