Sanija Ameti, who shot the image, is a Swiss politician of Bosnian origin, in no way connected to Ukraine, except for a post that the politician made online in support of the state against the background of the Russian invasion.
A number of pro-Russian sources reported that a Ukrainian refugee shot an icon in Zurich. The publications are accompanied by a screenshot from the woman’s Instagram profile, where she shared a photo in yellow and blue colors with the hashtag #standwithukraine. This news reinforces the propaganda narrative about the unacceptable behavior of Ukrainian refugees abroad.
However, in reality, Sanija Ameti is a Swiss politician of Bosnian origin, not related to Ukraine in any way. She is an MP from the Green Liberal Party and heads the political movement Operation Libero, which advocates a multicultural and progressive future for Switzerland. Ameti has long been interested in sports shooting and shared a photo of herself shooting at an image with Christian iconographic motifs online. After an outrage, Sanija Ameti deleted the post and apologized. She explained that she used an image from an art catalog because it was «the right size and prominent enough» to serve as a target. «I didn’t pay attention to the content of the illustration,» Sanija Ameti said and called her actions «absolute foolishness.» Several conservative politicians condemned Ameti’s actions and called for her resignation. Some accused her of inciting religious hatred. The leadership of the Green Liberals also believes that the politician’s actions are a reputational blow to the entire organization and will ask Ameti to leave the party.
Thus, Sanija Ameti has nothing to do with Ukraine, except for the publication that the politician made online in support of the state against the background of the Russian invasion. Earlier, Ameti also expressed the opinion that Switzerland should reconsider its policy of neutrality in connection with Russia’s war in Ukraine: «The Swiss realize that they are part of this European family of liberal democracies. It’s a struggle between systems — the one we’re in and Putin’s autocratic, kleptocratic system.»
Read the refutation of another fake about religion in the article Fake: Number of Cult Followers Increases after Ukrainian Orthodox Church Ban — Deutsche Welle.
