Reactions continue to pour in following the actions of Swiss politician Sanija Ameti, who, while practicing shooting, riddled a picture of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus with bullets.
The youth wing of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) filed a criminal complaint against Ameti, originally from BiH, for violating the freedom of religion and worship, as the party announced yesterday.
Nicolas Rimoldi, founder of the Mass-Voll movement, which emerged as a protest against pandemic measures, also announced that he would file a complaint.
After the Swiss newspaper Blick published the photos that Ameti shared on Instagram on Sunday, it didn’t take long for the 32-year-old politician to respond to the criticism.
She deleted the images and apologized, claiming she was unaware of what she had done.
But the situation didn’t end there.
Amid the criticism, Ameti resigned from her leadership position in the Green Liberals in Zurich.
The party is also considering expelling her, according to a report from Swiss public broadcaster SRF, as reported by Index.
“In the party leadership’s opinion, Sanija Ameti’s continued membership in the Green Liberals would damage the party’s reputation. To prevent further harm, the party demands that exclusion proceedings be initiated immediately,” the party stated.
Ameti had used an auction house catalog, featuring an image of Mary holding baby Jesus, as a target for her shooting practice.
On Instagram, Ameti, who enjoys shooting in her spare time, posted two photos showing her shooting at the image of Mary and Jesus.
In the close-up photo of the riddled image, around 20 bullet holes are visible.
Ameti explained that she had the art catalog with her by chance and didn’t pay attention to the religious content of the image.
Swiss media reported that Ameti was born in BiH and came to Switzerland as a refugee with her parents in 1995. Some reports also mention her connections to Kosovo.
Ameti identifies as a Muslim.
Source: Glas Srpske
