Prominent Dutch journalist Peter de Vries has been shot on the street in Amsterdam and is in serious condition in hospital.

De Vries is a writer and TV journalist who works to expose drug dealers, gangs and organized crime. 

The 64-year-old was shot as he left a television studio in a busy quarter of the Netherlands' capital after appearing on an evening show. 

Three people have been arrested, but one man was released without charge. The investigation into two men arrested in a car near The Hague continues.

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The reaction to the shooting has been swift, with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte speaking out against the "shocking and incomprehensible" attack and the country's royal family released a statement to show its commitment to press freedoms. 

"Journalists must be able to do their important work freely and without being threatened," said the letter from King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. 

De Vries gained fame in the 1980s when he followed the kidnapping of beer magnate Freddy Heineken for De Telegraaf, one of the most popular daily newspapers in the country. His stories inspired an Anthony Hopkins film on the disappearance. 

He has since covered crime and corruption on a freelance basis, including several Dutch women who were killed while traveling abroad. 

Although the motive for De Vries' shooting is not known, he was known to be advising "Nabil B" – a former gang member who is testifying against murder and drug trafficking suspect Ridouan Taghi. It's known as the Marengo Trial, referring to what is thought to be a Moroccan-Dutch "mafia."

Nabil B's former lawyer was shot dead in front of his Amsterdam family home in 2019.