A Dutch court on Wednesday convicted three men of murder for their roles in the fatal 2021 shooting of investigative reporter Peter R de Vries, a brazen attack in downtown Amsterdam that sent a shockwave through the Netherlands.

De Vries was gunned down on July 5, 2021 on a busy Amsterdam street and died nine days later of his injuries at age 64.

The shooter, getaway driver and organizer of the hit were convicted of direct involvement in the killing. The shooter and driver were sentenced to 28 years. The man who organized the slaying was sentenced to 26 years and one month.

A total of nine men were charged for their alleged roles in the murder. Four other suspects were convicted of complicity in the murder.

Two were acquitted because they were charged only with involvement in a criminal organization, and judges at Amsterdam District Court said prosecutors did not prove the existence of a criminal organization.

Prosecutors had sought life sentences for the gunman, getaway driver and organizer of the killing.

In January, prosecutors requested sentences ranging from three to 21 years for the six other suspects in the case.

The slaying sparked outrage, grief and anger throughout the Netherlands. Dutch King Willem-Alexander called the shooting of de Vries “an attack on journalism, the cornerstone of our constitutional state and therefore also an attack on the rule of law.”