Maria Putina: Dutch calls for Vladimir Putin’s daughter to be expelled from Netherlands

Pieter Broertjes, the mayor of Dutch city of Hilversum, used a radio interview on July 23 to call for Vladimir Putin’s daughter, Maria Putina, to be expelled from Netherlands in the wake of Malaysia Airlines disaster.

Maria Putina, 29, is said to live in Voorschoten with her Dutch boyfriend.

More than half of the 298 people killed when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine last week were Dutch.

Pieter Broertjes later apologized for his remarks via Twitter, saying they were “not wise”, but adding that “they stemmed from a feeling of helplessness that many will recognize”.

The Dutch government has declared July 23 a day of national mourning and marked the bodies’ arrival with a minute’s silence across the country.

Ukrainians living in Holland have also called for a peaceful protest outside Maria Putina’s flat, according to De Telegraaf newspaper. It published a photograph of the apartment complex where Maria Putina is said to live alongside the article on Monday.

Very little is known about the Russian president’s two daughters, Maria and Yekaterina (Katya), who are completely sheltered from media attention and have never been officially photographed as adults.

However, there have been persistent rumors linking Maria Putina with Dutch citizen Jorrit Faassen. Dutch media claimed that Vladimir Putin visited the couple last year, something his spokesman denied.

Jorrit Faassen has held senior roles in the Russian firms Gazprom and Stroytransgaz, a pipeline manufacturer, and hit the headlines when he was reportedly assaulted by the bodyguards of Russian banker Matvei Urin in a road-rage incident in Moscow in 2010.

Matvei Urin was later arrested and jailed for fraud.